


Book 4: Light and Darkness

by ButtonPusherExtraordinaire



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: A new war, Aang is no longer a child, Avatar Cycle, Avatar: The Last Airbender References, Azula Redemption, BAMF Aang, Benders versus Benders, Blood and Gore, Broken Balance, Character Study, Earth Kingdom, Eventual Katara/Zuko (Avatar), F/M, Fire Nation, Forgiveness, Four Nations, Guilt, It takes time to heal, Mature Aang, Multi, Post-Avatar: The Last Airbender, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Raava and Vaatu as Yin and Yang, Self-Acceptance, Stubborn Katara (Avatar), Violence, air nomads - Freeform, air temples, water tribes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2019-07-20 11:31:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 291,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16136357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ButtonPusherExtraordinaire/pseuds/ButtonPusherExtraordinaire
Summary: The Great War was over but why did it feel like that had only been the beginning? Years after Sozin's Comet, an ancient enemy who hates the Avatar rises to herald darkness. Lies and truths will be revealed while an older Gaang and Azula unite to stop this dire threat, and they seek to not only achieve peace for the world but for themselves, as well. AU! Zutara Azula/Aang(realistic)





	1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfiction. Leave a review and tell me what you think. This will be an eventual Zutara and Azula/Aang. This is an AU! Changes from Canon** **will** **occur!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender**

XxXxXxXxXxX

The Fire Nation.

For over a century, since the dawn of the Great War, that nation had been uttered in fear, and even terror and hate. Fire Lord Sozin's vision of a world of only Fire had brought pain and strife to everyone, some more than others, and no matter how much time passed, people did not simply cease to remember. His descendant, his own great-grandson, Fire Lord Zuko had worked endlessly ever since the reappearance of Sozin's Comet to relieve the fear and show the other nations that the Fire Nation was serious about a lasting peace.

But contempt for the Children of Fire ran deep in the souls of many, coiled in the deepest recesses of their vengeance-filled hearts.

XxXxXxXxXxX

A servant kneeled exactly three feet behind the Fire Lord's sitting form, "Here is the bread you requested, my liege."

The Fire Lord didn't react, and the servant was afraid that he had somehow displeased his sovereign, but after several tense seconds, the Fire Lord motioned him closer. The servant humbly jumped to his feet and journeyed towards Agni's chosen ruler, refusing to look into the face of the Fire Lord because, to do such, would be a sign of great disrespect to his sovereign, a crime punishable by death.

"You are dismissed," the Fire Lord's dismissal gave the servant the reprieve he was seeking. With his head still bowed, he quickly scurried away as respectfully as possible.

After grabbing the bread from the servant, Zuko held it in his palms, staring at the pond, at the Turtle Ducks. Multiple chirps erupted from the creatures' beaks and they swam closer, smelling the bread. Zuko smiled softly and tore off small pieces, dropping them into the pond. The Turtle Ducks acted like fire itself consuming the broken pieces within seconds, and he tossed more flakes into the pond, watching with fond amusement as the animals squabbled amongst themselves.

Eight hard and long years had passed since Sozin's Comet blazed through the sky, bathed the heavens with its red glow. At the beginning of his reign, Zuko had honestly thought that life would become easier, but he had been wrong, so greatly wrong. His father had made a disaster of the Fire Nation's economy and it had taken Zuko almost three years to clean it up. His uncle was a huge help, the best that he could have ever asked for. They would often write letters concerning the various topics and his uncle's sage advice was the main reason why Zuko was able to turn his nation's economy around so quickly, and the only reason that his temper hadn't threatened to raze the Caldera.

Months had been spent tirelessly reviewing everything that his father had done and upon completion, Zuko had realized that he would have to clean house. It had been worse than imagined, and he had quickly and vigorously gotten to work. All of his father's advisors and top military personnel were relieved from their duty. Any type of rebellion would have been treason and thus, execution and swift land and financial takeover by the Dragon's Throne. Luckily, Zuko had only had to order the deaths of a few of the old bitter and wretched hags.

Once all of his father's advisors and top generals had been either executed or forcefully relieved, he had quickly began putting heavy resources into finding his mother. And every time when Zuko visited his father's prison cell, the once-Phoenix King had been no help and had seemed cruelly amused every time Zuko had questioned him. After months had passed with no leads as to where her his mother was, Zuko had fiercely contemplated torturing his father for the information. He had signed the order several times, only to immediately set it alight with his fire because every time, nausea had threatened to overwhelm him; he had been told more than once that he was truly his father's son in his life, but he didn't want to be like his father, not at all. If he did torture his own father, he would essentially become Ozai reborn, and the thought was enough to stay his hand.

His uncle's advice must have been a gift from Agni himself, because after he had come so close to actually ordering his father's torture, he had actually stumbled upon his mother by pure happenstance.

It was quite surprising, actually, frighteningly similar to the time when he had stumbled upon his uncle bathing, the memory of retching ever-present. Zuko had sent his agents everywhere to try and pick up his mother's trail, but after each time, they would return with nothing to report. They were discouraging and after he had almost succumbed to the desire to torture his father, Zuko had adorned his Blue Spirit guise, venting his poisonous frustrations on some of the criminals in the Fire Nation.

Imagine his surprise when he had literally run into her in an alley in the middle of the night.

He had been in the Eastern Province looking to relieve his irritation on criminal scum when he had glimpsed a graceful figure dart into an alley. Thinking it to be a thief, Zuko had jumped off the roof and landed soundlessly in front of the figure, causing – who he noticed to be a woman – to stumble back in shock. He had loomed over her, and now looking back, his mother must have thought that he was going to rape her.

Their eyes had then locked – golden versus golden hidden behind a mask! – and he had frozen in place, hysteria threatening to burst through his mind in a shockwave of lightning. He had recognized those golden eyes, he had  _known_  those eyes. It had been fourteen years since he had glimpsed those golden orbs, but Zuko had always remembered how those eyes would sparkle at him when he had laughed in childish delight.

The woman was his mother, his missing mother, the Dowager Fire Lady of the Fire Nation.

During those moments, he hadn't moved, petrified that she would vanish before his very eyes like a delicious smoke after a crackling fire. He had watched unblinkingly as his mother's eyes narrowed in determination and anger, and she had then smoothly adjusted her stance, firing a hot blast of flames from her fist, followed by another from her foot in rapid succession.

It had only been Zuko's quick reflexes, which were borne from years of intense training, that he had managed to deflect the blow with his forearm, and with his other arm, bat the flaming-kick away at the last second. The show of incredible skill had done nothing to deter his mother, though, quite the opposite, actually. She had come after him over and over, blasting fire at him tirelessly, bearing a remarkable resemblance to Azula.

Zuko had finally had enough and tore off his mask. It had fluttered to the ground, catching his mother by surprise, but she hadn't stopped her attack. He had then caught her incoming fist in his hand, snuffing out the bright flames that had been headed straight for his already-scarred face. Upon finding her hand trapped, his mother had instinctively raised her gaze to meet his.

A breath had escaped out of her lips in a rush, blood draining from her face so rapidly that Zuko had been concerned she would faint. After another second, Zuko had let go of her hand and it fell limply to her side. His mother had blinked and swallowed, her lips parting in amazement and wonder and disbelief.  _"Zuko?"_  It had been whispered so quietly that he had almost missed it.

 _"Mom,"_  he had whispered in confirmation. Tears had then welled in her golden eyes, beginning to spill down her cheeks, falling to the ground with the force of large boulders. She had looked so uncertain, as if she hadn't known what to do, and Zuko had then quickly made the decision for her, pulling her into his chest, wrapping her arms around her tightly, embracing her for the first time in over fourteen years.

His mother had tensed in shock, but soon, her arms wrapped around his own back, squeezing tightly, hysterically, fingers clawing at his shirt in desperation.  _"Oh, Zuko, my beautiful baby boy,"_  she had choked out, shirt becoming wet from the force of her tears.

Tears had begun to seep out of his good eye and his composure had evaporated. Together, they had fallen to their knees, clutching one another. With a riot of emotions threatening to overwhelm him, he had finally managed to speak.  _"Come on,"_ he had squeezed her tighter, almost afraid that she would disappear from his life again.  _"It's time for you to come home, mom."_

It had taken a lot of convincing from Zuko, but Ursa had finally agreed to return to the palace. She had confessed that she had been too ashamed to return, especially since Ozai was still alive, and something about his grandfather, but Zuko had dismissed her concerns, citing truthful facts that would put her at ease. Then, after Zuko had held a Royal Banquet in her honor, she had demanded that he take her to visit Azula. In spite of wanting his sister and mother to reconnect, Zuko had hesitated. He himself visited his sister every day, because, no matter what she had done when she was Ozai's enforcer, he loved her, he always had and always would.

He had honestly not known how his mother would react upon seeing her once-loving daughter locked up, and that didn't even involve Azula's reaction. His sister was comfortable with his presence, especially since he had confessed many of the ways that he had resented her growing up. She, in turn, had then begun to finally open up about the… abuse she had suffered from Ozai after their mother had left, details that Zuko had never known about, details that enraged him so much that he had ordered several executions of his father's like-minded advisors.

Zuko had hoped that, just maybe, they would forgive one another, because despite what she would claim, his sister had changed, but Azula had always been unpredictable, even after her mind had finally begun to heal, and it had been no thanks to Aang's suggestion.

Eventually, after hearing his best friend's advice, Zuko had dismissed the chi blockers from his sister's room to give her an incentive to reach towards after a year since her imprisonment. Aang had written to him, reasoning that if Azula had her Fire, it would cause her to heal faster because his sister had always thrived under goals being put before her. She had actually smiled a true smile at him when he had announced it, shock carved into her features when he had also announced that it had been the Avatar's idea, and she hasn't caused any trouble with her firebending since then. Yet. She had reverted back to the Azula from his childhood – a cunning, mischievous, and prank-creating sister - and Zuko was more than pleased, but every time when their mother was brought up, Azula would go stock still and order him to leave.

Zuko hadn't wanted ruin the great leaps forward that she had taken, but his mother had dismissed his concerns. He had relented and begrudgingly taken her to see Azula, and the results had been about what he expected.

Azula's voice had greeted them upon entering her room,  _"You've already visited me today, Zuzu. Do you need me for something?"_

Zuko had clenched his jaw, knowing that the good mood his sister was in would evaporate once his mother entered.  _"I brought someone here to see you,"_  he had said warily.

He had seen Azula raise a brow,  _"Is it the Royal seamstress? Because, if it is her, then it's about time. I am relieved that you finally see that I've earned the right to have better colors in my room other than just plain old white. It's been far too depressing in here for far too long, big brother."_  Even though she had changed and had mostly healed mentally, some things would always be the same.

Zuko had sighed and prayed that this would not blow up in his face; but he knew it was hopeless.  _"I found her,"_  he hadn't needed to say more. He knew that she would understand, and she did. After several moments of staring at him incomprehensively, her eyes widened and her lips had parted in shock.

 _"Azula?"_  Their mother's voice had then drifted through the doorway and Zuko turned to face her while Azula turned away, features pale.

Although he had wanted to interfere, Zuko had known that this was something that both his mother and sister needed to do for themselves. Both women had stood silently, one staring and the other ignoring. It had been so quiet, and Zuko had half-expected it to remain that way forever.

After minutes of staring, his mother had breathed heavily,  _"I know that you probably hate me, Azula, and-"_

His sister had then stood to her feet, whirling towards their mother, and her hands had been alighted with flames, filling Zuko with dread.  _"You left and abandoned us. You left us with our father, you know that, don't you? We had to suffer for years, both of us, under Ozai's monstrous hands. And you murdered our grandfather. Did you think that we wouldn't figure it out?"_  Azula's voice had never wavered, nor did it increase in volume. She was eerily calm; but Zuko had known that it was only the calm before the storm hit.

_"I know that, and I hold myself-"_

_"No, you don't!"_  Azula had interrupted again, finally raising her voice, golden eyes burning.  _"You know_ _nothing!_ _You left us with a monster. Zuko isn't the only one with visible and invisible scars, mother."_  Azula's calm had rapidly begun to fade and was replaced with poisonous rage.

 _"And do you think that I don't know that?"_ Their mother had snapped, glaring back at Azula, mirroring Zuko's sister in appearance.  _"Oh, I know, believe me, I truly do. Who do you think had kept your father at bay for all of those years before I left? My scars are deep and visible and invisible, too."_  It had been said in a whisper. Both brother and sister had stared at her in surprise. Azula, though, had recovered first.

 _"And do you think that that makes it any better? No, fuck you and your flawed reasoning, mother. At least I had the strength to stay and not run away."_  She had hissed through clenched teeth.

Zuko had watched his mother raise an eyebrow,  _"And your mind broke, as a result, my precious daughter."_  Tears had then begun to spill down their mother's cheeks.  _"I should have taken you with me – both of you. Even though we would have been caught, I should have done so. You're right, Azula, I was a coward. After I killed your grandfather, I was in a panic that I had never yet experienced, and the only thought on my mind during that time had been surviving."_

Azula's flames had become hotter, glowing brighter.  _"And yet, you had found the time to say goodbye to Zuko!"_

He had winced and rubbed his heart, as if physically wounded, which is what it had felt like. He had never known that Azula knew about that, and he didn't know that she had been envious.

" _I'm not the only one to blame, my daughter!"_  Their mother's hands had become aflame for a moment, before she had then composed herself.  _"Did you ever give me a reason to think that you would miss me, or that you would want a good-bye? No, you didn't, because you were your great-grandfather's daughter. You had wanted nothing to do to me, and it had never been more apparent than during that last year."_  Tears had stained their mother's cheeks and Zuko had wanted to reach out and hug her but hadn't dared. He hadn't wanted Azula to think that he was choosing his mother's side.

" _You thought that I was a monster!"_

" _I never said that, but yes, I did think it at times."_  Their mother had stepped closer, like she was approaching a Dragon.  _"What was I supposed to do, Azula? I didn't know how to deal with you! Zuko, he had been so easy to handle as a child; he was truly his father's son through and through, but you, my daughter? From everything that Iroh and Azulon had ever shared, you bore similitaries to Sozin himself! It also didn't help that you were too clever for your own good, sharing so many traits with me that I can scarcely recall them all."_

" _Get out!"_  Azula had screeched, the candles in the room exploding with sapphire flames.  _"You are nothing but a lazy whore, and an even worse mother!"_

Zuko had closed his eyes in sorrow, but they had snapped open when he heard his mother stifle a deep wail of a sob,  _"Yes, I was, and I can see that now, but you should never doubt that I love you and your brother with my entire being."_  Before he had been able to react, their mother had lunged towards Azula, pulling her into her chest. Zuko had been scarcely able to move, to even draw breath into his airways, wondering if an unforeseen Airbender was reaping vengeance on him for Sozin's crimes, stealing the very air from his lungs.

" _You fiend! Let me go!"_  Azula's shrieks of animalistic intensity had been eerily similar to the day of Sozin's Comet when she had been chained by Katara after the Agni Kai.  _"I swear on everything sacred in this world, even the Avatar himself, that I will kill you!"_  It had been then, during that moment, that he had noticed that Azula hadn't summoned any flames to wound their mother, or even kill her.

Their mother had, to Zuko's immense relief, let go of Azula, but she had then fallen to her knees before his sister, golden eyes flooded with tears.  _"Fine, do it, Azula."_

Zuko had finally rushed forward,  _"No! What the fuck are you doing?"_  He had roared in outrage, his voice booming through the room in a horrifying echo.

" _No, you don't have a say in this, my love,"_ his mother hadn't even looked at him.  _"This is between Azula and I."_

" _Like hell it is!"_  He had snapped, staring fearfully at Azula's frozen form, sapphire flames dancing across her fingertips.  _"I demand that you stop this madness. I am the Fire Lord!"_

His mother had still stared at Azula,  _"My beautiful boy, it didn't work when your father did it, and it's not going to work for you, all right? Trust me, okay? This is my wish. If Azula does kill me, no harm will come to her, promise me?"_

" _Never! There's no fucking way that I am going to-"_

Their mother had finally glared at him and the resemblance to Azula in that moment had stolen his breath.  _"You will, and you will not regret it, I promise. Now you promise me, okay?"_

The look of utter determination and resolve in her eyes had convinced him, deflating his anger, but not his fear.  _"Okay, fine, I promise that no harm will come to my sister if she… kills you."_  The words had been bitter to say aloud.

Their mother nodded and turned back to Azula, whom was still frozen, eyes hazy, and Zuko was afraid that she had snapped out of reality, that all of the work that she had made had deteriorated. _"Azula, my precious daughter, I put my life in your hands, okay? You swore on the Avatar himself that you would kill me, so here's your opportunity, my love."_

Azula had finally blinked and her eyes filled with an immoral glow,  _"You are truly foolish, mother, but nonetheless, I accept."_  Zuko had watched in terror as Azula's sapphire-alighted hands slowly reached towards their mother's face. He had wanted to turn away, away from the knowledge that he had sentenced his mother to death and that he had caused Azula's mind to break once again, but he couldn't. His eyes had been riveted towards the sight.

Just as Azula's flames had begun to lick their mother's face, she froze, flames growing weaker, eyes twitching as tears filled them. Her hands began to waver and slowly, their mother wrapped her fingers gently around the shaking hands.  _"It's okay, my love, I'm never leaving you again."_

Azula had then abruptly jerked back as if she were the one burned,  _"Get out!"_  Azula had screamed,  _"Get out! NOW, I said! Out! LEAVE!"_  Before his sister had been able to change her mind about her decision, Zuko immediately grabbed his mother by the arm and had yanked her out of the room, slamming the door shut.

 _"No one is to go in that room until I command. If I find out that anyone does, it will be your heads cleaved from shoulders, understand?"_  Zuko had then ordered to the four imperial Firebenders that always stood guard by Azula's room. They had all nodded in unison and took up their standard positions.

Zuko had looked at his mother and noticed the tears that were beginning to fall down her cheeks once again, but he knew that these were from relief. He sighed, feeling his stress finally disperse; it had blown up in his face, but an essential truth had been found: Azula wasn't going to kill their mother. He had then quickly pulled her along the corridors until they reached his own chambers. Zuko had glanced at the metallic skulls of his own imperial firebending guards and they swiftly opened the large dragon-like door and, just as swiftly, shut it once the two royals had passed.

Zuko had then taken off his crown and gently placed it on the mantle above the fire. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed softly.  _"That could have gone better,"_  he had winced immediately after the words left his lips. When he was just plain old Zuko, the real him, he was always so awkward. When Fire Lord, he was effortlessly able to order servants and generals around.

He had sometimes wished that he had made more of an effort to cultivate friends during his childhood. That would have probably helped him become more socially adept.

He looked at his mother. She was out on the balcony looking at nothing, but also everything. He walked over and stood next to her. Neither said a word. Until finally the silence was broken.

 _"Yes, it could have,"_  Ursa admitted sadly.  _"Although it's a relief to know that Azula won't kill me, it breaks my heart to witness what Ozai turned her into."_

Zuko had then looked at her. He hadn't been able to recall a time in his life when she had looked so devastated. Tears were still silently running down her face and Zuko pulled her into a hug. She clutched at him and Zuko reciprocated.

 _"I'm so sorry,"_  his mother had whispered.  _"It's all my fault."_

 _"No, it's not!"_  Zuko had pulled away and gripped her shoulders tightly.  _"Don't you ever say that, understand? It's his! It's his fault! It was never your fault! Do you understand? Ozai is to blame, not you, never you._ " Zuko finished his rant by breathing heavily,  _"It's not your fault."_

 _"But it is,"_  his mother had whispered again.

_"NO, IT'S-"_

_"YES, IT IS!"_  She had screamed.  _"He tricked me!"_  She had turned away and her hands curled around the railing, her knuckles whitening by the second.

 _"What are you talking about?"_  Zuko asked in bemusement.  _"Who tricked you? Was it… Ozai?"_

She had then not answered for several seconds, as if she was searching for the words. She sighed quietly,  _"Yes, it was your father. When Azula told me that Ozai was planning to kill you, I confronted him, and he admitted that he was going to do it. He then told me he would spare you if I killed Azulon and he became Fire Lord."_  She had paused and shuttered. "I snuck in through the secret passage and your grandfather had already been in his bed. I thought he was asleep," she had sighed heavily and glanced at Zuko.

He had been unsurprised, for he and Azula had talked about that night often, and through her help, he had realized the terrible truth about  _that_ night. Zuko went to put his hand on her shoulder but his mother turned away.

"The plan was to inject him with a special poison that would create a heart attack, but that's not what happened." She had then grimaced.

_Ursa breathed in deeply; she was about to kill her own father-in-law, her children's grandfather, the Fire Lord himself, Sozin's son. She placed the needle on his neck and just as she was about to insert it, Azulon's hand wrapped around her own and she felt a hand bruise against her chest with crushing force. Ursa flew back a few feet, winded and looked up in fear. She heard Azulon's fingers snap and all the candles flared to life under the Fire Lord's power. Upon realizing that she was no longer in possession of the poison, her eyes frantically darted around until she found it: it was laying on the floor, out of her reach. She was surprised that it hadn't shattered._

" _I had always expected such treachery from Ozai, you know, but never you. I would have never guessed that you, daughter, would try something." Azulon's face was contorted in anger but Ursa could see the hurt underneath. After all, she and Azulon were very close. They played pai sho together every day and he always ate with her and the children when he could spare the time._

" _I'm doing what I have to, father! What else could I do? You gave me no other choice." Ursa's voice was calm and clear._

_She was in quite the conundrum. She could try to fight him with firebending, but this was the Fire Lord himself, a man with ninety years of experience. Ursa knew that she was talented, a prodigy admitted to the Royal Academy, but she didn't stand a chance against the Fire Lord, against Sozin's son. A victory against him was unthinkable._

_She had achieved feats that only those of the Royal Fire Bloodline have, and that's when she met Azulon. He had taken an immediate interest in her and had swiftly introduced her to Ozai. She had fallen in love with him, and a few months later, they were married with Zuko on the way._

_They had only been sixteen years old._

_Azulon glared at her, his own golden eyes burning. "So be it," he launched a wave of fire and leaped towards her. Ursa's eyes widened and she summoned her own flame to deflect the wave while rolling to the side to avoid her father-in-law. She immediately shot a jet of her fire towards the Fire Lord, but he smacked it aside and shot his own blast at her. Ursa rolled again but wasn't fast enough - part of her cloak was burning. She quickly put the flame out while Azulon stalked forward. She glanced to where the poison was, a few feet next to her. Azulon didn't notice. Her chances of actually grabbing the poison and reaching him in time to inject it were very slim. She was about to die, and she just had to know why._

" _I would have never thought you would order Ozai to do such a thing! How could you? My son is innocent, and if I succeed, he will become a greater Fire Lord than you!" Ursa cried out, unable to keep the devastation from coloring her voice. She had thought that Azulon would continue his assault, but instead, he froze and a look of bemusement crossed over his face._

_Ursa saw her chance and took it. Since she was still kneeling on the floor, she quickly rolled to the side again, grabbed the syringe, and simultaneously shot flames out of her feet to propel her forward. She flew towards Azulon, whose eyes had widened and his hands became alight with flames, but it was too late._

_Ursa was too fast._

_She maneuvered her body so that she was flying towards his shoulder. Azulon raised his arm to block her, but she grabbed it and wrenched it towards the ground. His body jerked down, and she jammed the needle into his neck and injected the poison in one smooth motion._

_Azulon quickly turned around and his elbow slammed into her head. She fell to the floor and looked up to see the Fire Lord pull the needle out of his neck. Ursa brought her hand up to her head and felt blood streaming down the side of her head. She glanced at Azulon. He gazed at the empty tube, "Poison" he muttered. He looked at her and suddenly chuckled. "I've lived through numerous assassination attempts, yet the one that actually succeeds is the one committed by my own daughter." He shook his head. "I have learned to trust my instincts through my long life and they have never failed me in the past. I sense that there is more to this treachery than at first glance." Her father-in-law sighed, "I can sense that I only have precious time left, so I will ask you once again, daughter, why did you do this?" Azulon grabbed a chair and pulled it toward her and sat down._

" _You gave me no choice, father! I did what I had to." Ursa's voice shook and she wiped at the tears that were beginning to fall down her cheeks. "What choice did I have?" She whispered._

" _And_   _what in Agni's name are you blabbering on about?" Azulon demanded. He leaned forward and stared at her intensely._

_Ursa suddenly felt uncertain, "Princess Azula had eavesdropped after the presentation," she murmured, watching her father-in-law carefully. "She revealed that Ozai was going to kill Zuko, and when I confronted my husband about it, he told me that you had ordered him to kill his firstborn so that he would know the pain of losing his firstborn son just as Iroh-" She was interrupted as Azulon bolted to his feet._

" _You were tricked, you foolish woman!" Azulon roared. He glared down at her, but when he saw the tears spilling down her cheeks, he softened ever so slightly. He pulled her up by the hands and gestured for her to take a seat._

_Ursa did and she had a terrible feeling, "What do you mean, father? I was tricked?" She questioned quietly, afraid of the answers._

_Azulon stared at her for several seconds, face set in stone, "Do you believe me a fool, daughter?" He growled out. "Our family has just lost Lu Ten, second in line to the Dragon's Throne behind my heir, Prince Iroh. We need to show unity to our people, not prolicide and parricide! We do not act that way anymore; the Cousins' War ended centuries ago and it's in the past." He then shook his head in wonder or, perhaps, disbelief. "And do you honestly think that I would order Zuko's death, my own grandson, my own flesh and blood? Do you have such a low opinion of me, Princess Ursa?" Azulon clenched his jaw._

_Ursa looked at him in surprise. "I didn't know what to believe, father, I didn't! I was scared and acted hastily." She was about to speak again but was interrupted._

" _Yes, you seemed to jump to the conclusion that I would be willing to order my own grandson's death quite easily, Roku's granddaughter." Azulon's golden eyes burned like melted gold, "A_ _fter today's debacle in the throne room, Ozai requested a private audience with me. He tried to fool me just as he fooled you, Princess Ursa, but I was unmoved unlike you. He tried to convince me to name him the Crown Prince, citing his reasoning that because Iroh no longer had an heir, his bloodline would die out, especially since he claimed that Iroh would not wish to remarry."_

_Ursa gasped, features paling in the light. "No, he wouldn't! Ozai would never. . ." Ursa trailed off, though, when she realized that what she had just said was a lie, the realization that Ozai would, indeed, attempt to seize the Dragon's Throne ahead of Iroh flushing through her. Her husband was no longer the man who she had married and fallen in love with. He would do anything to get the crown, she had known it for some time, but was too hopeful that she was wrong. He had changed into someone unrecognizable. A flimsy hope that the Face Stealer had stolen her husband's face, replacing it with someone else's, was easily snuffed out because she doubted that Koh had that power: to gift someone else control over another's body._

_Azulon saw her realization and nodded "Yes, so, as you can easily imagine, I became incensed by his blatant betrayal of Iroh and told Ozai that he would know the pain of losing his firstborn, his heir." He paused and sighed, "I would never order my own grandson's death, Princess Ursa; I had thought that you would know that, but it seems that I was wrong. My intention was for Zuko and Azula to be given to Iroh for him to raise as his own."_

_Shock erupted through her mind as she sat there frozen in shock. After Azula had told her that Ozai was going to kill Zuko, she immediately went to Ozai and demanded to know if their daughter's accusations were true. Her husband had confirmed it, golden eyes looking at her expectantly, wanting to know what she would be willing to do to protect Zuko. Then, for the next hour, they had devised the plan to assassinate Fire Lord Azulon._

_Realizing how much of a fool her husband had made her, Ursa fell to her knees before the Fire Lord, "My liege, my sorrow cannot express how terribly I have wronged you. I will admit, under my own power, that my intention was to assassinate you. I have always been your humble and loving servant, but you know as well as I do, that being a mother has been my first and foremost duty." Her eyes locked onto Azulon's, "I am very fond of you, my liege, always have been. You have treated me with such kindness, as if I was your own blood, but when it comes to my children's safety being compromised, I would do anything to make certain that the threat was neutralized or destroyed, no matter who the threat is. I can clearly see the folly now in trusting my husband's words, that he had preyed on my maternal instincts, knowing that I would fail to see clearly, and I hope that you find it in your heart to forgive me, my liege."_

_Azulon didn't say anything, glaring down at her for several moments before he continued, "Ozai was to lose his place in the line of succession and all titles as my second son were to be revoked, and his execution was to be considered." Her father-in-law suddenly seemed so tired; the poison was beginning to work. "The plan was for you and Iroh then to marry and sire more children. I would have forced him, provoking his loyalty to me, making him see that the Fire Royal Family was on the brink of disaster, and only a marriage would mend the wounds created by Ozai."_

_Ursa was numb, frozen in place. Her husband had manipulated her into killing his own father, and judging the paleness of Azulon's features, she would soon be his murderer, and all she felt was such sorrow and rage that it threatened to overwhelm her. "Father, I… am so sorry," she choked out, feeling the tears return._

" _I can see now that you are not at fault. The blame lies at Ozai's feet." He gestured to his neck, "I am quite impressed that you pulled this off despite myself, daughter." Azulon chuckled quietly and then his features hardened, strength carved into his face in spite of the fact that his death was approaching. "My time is coming, my dear, and please know that I do not blame you for this, daughter. Besides Iroh and Ilah, you have always been my favorite person. Yet, in spite of that, you must be punished, daughter. You are soon to have murdered Agni's chosen ruler, anointed by the Fire Spirit himself, and committed patricide, something not seen in our nation since weeks after my father's own birth."_

_She closed her eyes and nodded her head in acceptance, "I will humbly abide by whatever you see fit, father, even if it is execution."_

_"Good, daughter, good. I assume that you and Ozai agreed that he would become Fire Lord after my death, bypassing Iroh, yes?" Ursa could do nothing except nod her head in shame. "If I've learned anything since when I witnessed your excellence in the Academy, it is that Ozai loves you fiercely, bordering on obsession ever since I introduced you two. So, I reason that you were to return to him after you killed me, correct, daughter?"  
_

_"Yes, father,"_

_Azulon closed his eyes, inhaling roughly, and then his eyes opened, a coldness shining within. "Then, as punishment to you both, you will immediately flee from the Caldera after I pass. It is your decision if you wish to take your children with you but know that if you do take Prince Zuko and Princess Azula with you, the entire world – and history, for that matter - will know of your crime. Ozai will slowly go mad without you by his side, and there is no better vengeance I can reap on my son then that. History will remember him as a monster, and it will be his own fault." Her father-in-law smiled and with a start, it reminded Ursa that she was in the presence of Sozin's son, of the man who had helped his father conquer half of the Earth Kingdom. "Although I grieve the loss of Lu Ten, daughter, I cannot help but see that fate has deemed it necessary, though. You should take pride, Princess Ursa. Your son will sit on the Dragon's Throne, and I foresee that my blood will have been well spent; my grandson will be hailed by the Four Nations over as a worthy ruler, and he will succeed where I, my father, and Iroh had failed in finding the Avatar."_

_She swallowed, fear beginning to plague her mind at the returned-Avatar's unholy vengeance. Would he destroy the Fire Nation and every Child of Fire in retribution over the Air Nomads' genocide? "Then my children will remain here; I wish them not to live like a fugitive."_

_"Then, as further punishment, daughter," Azulon's eyes were hard. "You will never be able to return to the Caldera unless your son, the future Fire Lord, seeks you out. You will stay at one of my homes in the Eastern Province, a place that Ozai would never expect. That is as far as my mercy runs, Princess Ursa, consider being grateful."_

_"I am, father, I truly am. If it takes my banishment to put my son on the Dragon's Throne, then I would do it a thousand times over." She hesitated and gathered her courage, "They say that when the Gardens of the Dead are near, the death-touched ones can glimpse the future. You have foreseen Prince Zuko becoming Fire Lord and beloved by the Four Nations, which tells me that, somehow, the Air Nomads will return, but what of Princess Azula? What do you foresee concerning my daughter?"_

_Azulon tilted his head, "My, you truly have gall, daughter, but I am feeling generous to my murderer. Very well, I foresee Princess Azula walking a dangerous, deadly path. She will be molded by Ozai into a monstrous weapon, and fear will be a walking shadow behind her." Ursa quivered at the foretold future for her daughter, more tears spilling down her cheeks. "But, daughter, Princess Azula will eventually find peace in the most unlikely places, because of one person who could truly help her heal. She will have her own nation, Princess Ursa, and she will find glory, her very name echoing throughout history, side-by-side with that of her future husband's."_

_Ursa smiled tearfully, "Then, I'm glad, father. I don't want my precious daughter to… suffer in life."_

_"Oh, she will suffer, daughter, but it will make her all the stronger, and when she is an adult, she will be thankful for that suffering." Azulon reached over and squeezed her hand. He then looked into her eyes, and stood to his feet, slowly walking to his bed._

_She rose as well and put her arm through his. "I am so sorry, father," she helped him sit down on the bed and he weakly went under the blankets._

" _I forgive you, daughter. Your punishment isn't something that I wanted, but nonetheless, had to order. I can feel Ilah near, Princess Ursa, and I have missed her so." Azulon gradually became weaker and Ursa gripped his hand as he weakly squeezed back, and she kept a hold of his hand until it became limp._

_Fire Lord Azulon was dead._

His mother had been crying after her tale ended, and Zuko found that his heart was filled with insurmountable hatred. He had felt relief that his grandfather had actually cared for him, and that the reason that his mother had never returned was her honor of a dying man's wish, but they had both been overwhelmed by the need to kill Ozai. He had found his hands gripping the steel railing until it melted under his firebending. He looked at his mother, at the sight of her standing stock still, heartbreak carved into her features. Zuko had quickly pulled her into his arms, "Grandfather was right, mom: it's not your fault. As he said, the blame lies solely on Ozai's shoulders." Zuko had whispered into her ear.

Nodding her head, his mother had sniffed, "I know that it is, but I still feel responsible. I murdered your grandfather, the Fire Lord himself, and it was me who failed to see through Ozai's blatant lies. Because of my mistake, he beat you and your sister. He burned your face and made our daughter go insane." She had been crying softly and Zuko knew that he could deal with his father later.

His mother had needed him during that moment.

She had soon claimed exhaustion and Zuko escorted her to her room. He had nodded to the guards and they opened the doors. Once inside, his mother had gently removed her arm from hiw own and sat on her bed. "When you visit him, do not let your emotions cloud your judgment, all right?" She had whispered tiredly, climbing into her bed.

Zuko had frowned, "What are you talking about? I'm not planning to visit anyone." He had blatantly lied, not needing his mother to know of his intentions.

"Do not lie to me. I know that you will go visit your father as soon as I fall asleep."

Knowing that he was caught, he had clenched his jaw, "Of course I'm going to. He's ruined all of our lives!" Zuko had started pacing, feet digging into the floor.

"No matter what I say, I know you will visit him anyway." She had countered, frowning, "Just remember what I said, okay?"

"Yes, mother," he had muttered and exited the room, journeying towards his father's prison.

As soon as he had arrived, his father had laughed cruelly. "Well if it isn't my  _loyal s_ on, the Fire Lord. Have you come here to ask again about your mother, boy?"

Zuko had promised his mother not to let his emotions cloud his judgment, but he was  _so close_  to exploding. "No, because I found her on my own," Zuko had smirked at his father's dumbfounded expression. "I didn't need your help; you have never helped me in my entire life." He had growled, feeling the flames begin to lick at his skin.

"That's not true,  _son_." Ozai had pointed to his face, "I gave you my mark so that you would become stronger, so that you would learn respect." His father had stood up and crossed his cage and stood right before Zuko; they were eye-to-eye, identical colored-eyes locking. "I can see now that I had only succeeded with the former." He had smirked, teeth gleaming like a predator's in the dim light, but Zuko had caught a hint of pride in his father's voice and it had only made him more furious.

With a yell of rage, he had shifted into a firebending stance. Relishing in the look of fear that had found its way into Ozai's eyes, Zuko had let the fire flow. The steel cage had quickly melted and Zuko stepped inside with fire rushing through his blood. Ozai looked around at the remnants of his once prison and actually smiled genuinely. "You have grown very powerful,  _son_ ," that time the pride in his voice had been unmistakable.

Zuko had stalked closer and kicked Ozai in the chest, sending him painfully into the wall with a surprised grunt of pain. He surged forward, and his hand had wrapped around Ozai's throat, squeezing very tightly, hands beginning to grow hot. "I so very badly want to kill you. But I won't. I could easily mark you as you did me, but I'm not going to, because I'm better than you." Zuko had reluctantly let go of his father's throat and Ozai sank to the floor, heaving in as much air as he could, golden eyes disgusted.

His father had stared into his eyes, eyes that Zuko had noticed were never more identical to his own than during that moment. "You should just kill me,  _Fire Lord_." He had brought his hand up to his throat, lightly massaging it. "You clearly want to, I can tell," he had smirked up at him again, daring him.

Zuko's hands had curled into fists, and when Ozai noticed the action, his poisonous eyes had lit up in delight. Although the thought had crossed his mind, enticingly showing him a world where his father was dead, he had had other plans. Instead, he had twisted his body and swung his leg around until it connected to his father's temple. Ozai head had snapped to the side painfully and blood flowed down from his head in a small stream, but surprisingly, he had still been conscious. Glaring up at him defiantly, Ozai had snarled like a wild animal, and Zuko quickly hammered his fists into his temple until he had finally fallen unconscious.

After walking out of the cell, he had ordered the group of guards to take the prisoner to another cell, knowing that it would be asinine to leave his father in a room without a cell. Even without bending, his father was still incredibly dangerous. Finally heaving punches into his father had been cathartic, and as he had walked back to his room using the secret passage, peace and disgust had warred in his mind until peace won, spreading through his mind in a comforting blanket. That day, he had known that he possessed the willpower to never succumb to the dark and vile urges that existed inside him, to know that he was never going to become like his father.

Zuko blinked as he came out of his reminiscing, hearing the footsteps approaching from behind him. Without turning around, his mother's soothing voice drifted into his ears. "Your meeting will begin shortly, Zuko."

"I know, mother," Zuko smiled at her as she sat down next to him, chuckling as the Turtle Ducks greeted her, squawking happily.

She picked up some of the leftover bread and fed the ducks. "I'm worried about you," she said softly after a few moments of silence. "You work far too hard and your only companions are me, Azula, who is imprisoned, and your uncle. It's been years since I returned and Azula's healing, yet you've made no friends or any effort to contract an advantageous marriage for yourself."

"Mom, we've had this conversation before," he pointed out. "I'm fine, you should know that." Zuko knew what was coming next.

"You're lonely and I wish that you would give a nice girl a chance to love you, my beautiful boy." His mother stared at him.

Zuko sighed. There it was. "Mom, I don't need a girlfriend or a wife. I'm fine," he said tiredly.

"The Fire Nation and the Noble Houses would beg to differ, my son. They have been pushing their daughters and sisters at you like they are common whores. They seem quite lovely, and they might make you happy, and they would be willing to bear you your children, the heirs to the Dragon Throne."

"I'm fine," he repeated, wishing that she would drop the subject.

"But you're not! You are so lonely. I know all about the concubines, but that's not healthy. Currently, your best friend is your own mother." She gazed at the Turtle Ducks, "I know that you had to banish Mai and Ty Lee," she began softly.

"That was one of the reparations that I was forced to concede to the Earth Kingdom after the Great War ended." Zuko snapped as he closed his eyes. "I tried and tried, but Kuei, Ba Sing Se's King, was adamant that the conquerors of Ba Sing Se were to be given to him and put on trial, which would end with them being executed! When Mai and Ty Lee learned of Kuei's demands, they had willingly agreed to turn themselves in, trying to focus Kuei's ire at them instead of Azula, unwilling to see Azula handed over. Then, I broke them out of prison using my Blue Spirit persona, giving them the only choice that I could which included their survival. They understood, and I had to banish them for their escape from prison, and thus, their so-called ' _treachery'_ _._ I have no idea what happened to them; I lost contact years ago, and Kuei, that little entitled prick, was not pleased when I told him that they had escaped custody." Zuko could feel his anger mounting and snarled, flames sparking across his palms. "That's the only reason that I haven't released Azula from prison! Even though her mind has finally healed, and you two are civil with one another, I can't do it! If I did, there would be another fucking war!." Zuko sagged and leaned against the tree.

"I know, my darling," his mom gently placed a hand on his arm. "But isn't there someone else who could fill that void in your life? Specifically, a girl?"

Zuko thought of beautiful blue eyes the color of the ocean themselves, a smile that was brighter than the sun and could melt any iceberg, and the peace that had settled in his soul whenever he had been in her presence.

_Katara._

He looked at his mother, "No, there isn't, mother," he admitted, refusing to confess that the fact made him terribly sad.

His mother looked at him regretfully, "Well, maybe you will meet a nice girl someday. You mentioned your friends during the Great War," she suggested.

"I doubt it, mother," Zuko stood up and smiled gently, "I think that I've delayed my meeting long enough."

"Yes, of course," she gestured, "Go to your meeting, Zuko. Just remember what I said, okay?"

Zuko nodded and exited the Royal Garden. He made his way into the corridor and glanced around, making certain that they were no prying eyes. And when he was satisfied that he was alone, he put his flaming hand on a section of the wall and one of the many secret passages made its presence known. He stepped through and his footsteps echoed lightly as he journeyed, his mind easily finding the passage that led to the Throne Room. The passage then, after more minutes of walking, deposited him behind his Dragon Throne. It was now time for him to dawn the mantle of Fire Lord once again. The wall of flames roared to life and all the men bowed reverently before him.

He wearily settled on his throne, the conversation with his mother weighing heavily on his mind, and he was truly thankful that only his imposing silhouette could be seen by everyone in the room.

"All hail Fire Lord Zuko! Master of Agni's Eternal Flame! Keeper of the Dragon's Throne!" All the kneeling men cried out in unison. Zuko sighed, knowing that this meeting was going to be a long one.

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**That's all for chapter one! I'd really appreciate some reviews, everybody!**

****Okay, eight years have passed since Sozin's Comet and Zuko's ascension to Fire Lord. Many things have happened since then.**

****So, I changed Ursa into a Firebender because, to me, it does not make sense for a non-bender to marry into the Fire Nation's Royal Family. Being a bender is crucial in the Fire Nation; nobody would accept a princess who couldn't bend. And I honestly think that Zuko bears far more similarities to his father than to his mother, and Azula is the opposite. Based on how Ozai was characterized in Canon, I see Zuko's personality as pretty much the same thing if he had continued down his path before seeing 'the light', whereas Azula's is from her mother, and possible grandparents.**

****Azulon wasn't necessarily a bad guy; he had inherited the Great War from his father and continued Sozin's conquest. It never made sense, in Canon, when Azulon pretty much tasked Ozai to murder Zuko. Lu Ten, second in line to the Dragon's Throne, had just been killed. Why would Azulon, a man who has been sovereign for over twenty years, task Ozai to kill another heir to the Dragon's Throne? It didn't make sense, so I changed things up.**

**Also, the reason that Ursa doesn't return to her son after the Great War is that of Azulon. Although he isn't necessarily a bad guy, he isn't a nice guy, either. He gets his revenge on both Ursa and Ozai for their alliance to murder him. He has always liked Ursa, so he sanctions an 'out' for her situation so that she can return to the Caldera, but only if it is Zuko, when he is Fire Lord, who finds her, and no one else. I hope that it seems like a viable reason and action on Azulon's part because I truly like it.**

**So, leave a review and tell me what you all think! I'd really appreciate it!**

**_Stay Safe_ **   
**ButtonPusher**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender**

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The Southern Air Temple.

A century ago, the temple was bursting with life as countless Airbenders were visible playing on their air scooters while the Elder Monks would mediate. Dozens upon dozens of Sky Bison had once flooded through the sky, blotting out Agni's great light at times with their sheer size. Now, the temple was abandoned, forgotten by time, and home to only one: the Avatar, the Last Airbender.

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Aang had found that it was so much easier to deal with the genocide of the Air Nomads when he had been younger and surrounded by friends, but things were different now. He was alone, more apparent of how alone he truly was as the Avatar and the last of the Air Nomads than ever before. When he had first come back to the temple after the Great War, after he had managed to triumph over Ozai during Sozin's Comet, he was finally able to truly mourn, mourn for his old life, his race, his culture, Gyatso, Kuzon, all the lives that had been lost while he was stuck in an iceberg, ignorant of how his disappearance was affecting the world that he was supposed to protect, and the life that he should have lived had things turned out differently, how he had wanted to live his life.

His first act upon his return to the Southern Air Temple several years after the Great War was to finally give his fellow Air Nomad their proper burials and then return the Temple to its former glory.

_Aang had delicately gathered all the remains of his kin that he had been able to find throughout the Temple, gently handling the countless skeletons of his old friends and even the newly-born children and had set them on the pyre at the very top of the Temple. The sky was dark, the air itself stale as it seemed to realize how traumatic this event was for him._

_With a simple flick of his wrist, the pyre became alight with flames and this time, Aang was there to watch his people burn. The fire crackled through the air and visions molested his mind like an inexperienced lover, his eyes seeing images of his kin being coldly murdered by Fire Lord Sozin's armies on the day of Sozin's Comet over a hundred years ago. Fire was ever-present as the screams of his people echoed in his soul, traumatizing him more than anything ever had, even when he had first seen Gyatso's corpse._

_Even though thick, harsh, and bitter tears were blurring his vision, he began to perform the ritually flawlessly, refusing to allow his grief to ruin his people's final rights. Swinging each arm forward, the ashes of his people slowly rose in the air, dancing in the murky-colored sky. He turned, and with his arms going level with his shoulders, started to rotate his hands. The air then began to whip around, lashing out gently as it gathered power, blurring together faster and faster until it became a tornado._

_Aang watched as the ashes became one with the wind itself and knew that the ceremony was about to end. As he pulled his arms into his chest and the air slowed down slightly, Aang curled his hands into fists and with a roar of emotional effort, slammed his hands on the ground. The air rushed below him and swirled underneath his body for just a second, and then it exploded outward, dispersing into the open sky._

_He stared upwards, tears spilling down his cheeks as he observed the spirits of his fallen people finally become at rest. They were ethereal in the heavens, but Aang couldn't join them, he would never be able to join them no matter how much he wanted to. While they were finding peace deep in the bowels of the sky, he was forever tethered to the Earth. He briefly saw Gyatso's incandescent spirit look down at him from his final resting place in the sky, and Aang choked on a deep wail of emotional upheaval. His Master only nodded his head and closed his eyes, every spirit of the slaughtered Air Nomads from the Southern Air Temple vanishing in a sweeping gust of wind, claiming their rightful places in the Gardens of the Dead._

_The only evidence left of the event was the charred pyre, and Aang stared brokenly at the small gusts of wind that would occasionally brush against him in comfort. "Goodbye," he whispered._

_Aang looked at the still smoking pyre and punched his fist at it. The air around him surged forward, blasting the pyre apart with devastating power, and with a wave of his hand, the pieces of the pyre were swept off the mountain by a brief gust of wind._

_He stood silently for several seconds and that's when he finally broke down, every boundary that he had ever erected to keep himself from succumbing from the unimaginable grief shattering like ice. He bitterly and harshly wept for he was all alone, a living relic, and the last of his kind. The more he sobbed, the more his heart fractured, and that's when he realized that nobody could ever understand how… alone he was in this life. He wasn't just the last Airbender, he was the Avatar, a being cursed to live for centuries and one whose sole purpose was to serve the world, a life to live only selflessly. But he didn't want to be selfless, he was weary of it, sick of it. For once, he wanted to be selfish, to drown under the sorrow brimming in his soul._

_His heart finally broke, and with it, his control. The mountain began to rumble as his tears spilled more violently, a terrible anguish erupting in his heart. Cracks in the stone appeared around him, spider-webbing erratically, and something clawed through the obscurity in his soul, trying to reach him. "Everything will be okay, Aang," Avatar Yangchen's voice echoed in the darkness. "You are not alone, no matter how lonely you feel. We are here, all of us,"_

_Aang opened his eyes and the mountain stopped shaking violently, returning to its dormant state. He sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes as moved his body into a lotus position. He closed his eyes and concentrated for several seconds. A grayish cloud floated out of his body and floated forward until it was across from him. It swirled around and grew bigger until finally, it formed into the shadow of a person. Aang opened his eyes and stared at Avatar Yangchen._

_She didn't ask questions; she understood. Perhaps, it was because they were both borne to the Air Nomads or maybe, it was because they were technically the same person, but Aang didn't care. He just needed someone who understood._

" _I feel your pain, young Airbender." Yangchen's eyes were so full of sorrow that Aang knew that she did truly understand what he was feeling._

" _I don't know what to do," he admitted quietly, feeling the grief in his heart, beginning to be stroked by his emotions. "It's just me and I'm alone. I'm the Avatar and the last Airbender in the entire world. Believe me, I've looked, and Fire Lord Sozin and his blood-soaked armies left no stones unturned in their pursuit to kill every Airbender, eradicating entire bloodlines." Aang felt the tears reappear and did nothing to stop them._

" _The Air Nomads will rise again." Yangchen smiled sadly, her own eyes shining with ethereal tears. "It will take time, but the Airbenders will return to the world. It has been foretold, and you will be the father of an entire nation."_

" _I know that they will. The Sages of every nation have pressuring me to marry, or at the very least, spread my seed in every woman who I can find, bringing life to my dead race. But I'm not ready for something like that, Avatar Yangchen, if I ever will be. I'm only fifteen years old, and yet, I'm so lonely, more alone than anyone." He paused and looked out into the open sky, "No one understands, not even you, Avatar Yangchen. It isn't your burden to bear, but it is mine and mine alone, and with each passing day, it becomes heavier and heavier, like the weight of the heavens itself crushing down my shoulders just as it does my heart." He whispered._

" _That is true, Avatar Aang, and I cannot imagine the fathomless depths of your many burdens, but perhaps our presence can at least ease those burdens."_ _Yangchen's eyes closed for a moment, and more grayish mist formed. A few seconds later, Aang saw Airbenders appear behind his Air Nomad Avatar predecessor, and he immediately knew who they were: all of the Air Nomad Avatars._ " _You are never alone, Aang. We all understand, better than anyone, what you are feeling. The grief of losing the Air Nomads afflicts our hearts just as it does your own, and we all know the hardships of being the Avatar. We are here, Aang, and we will never leave you." Yangchen gestured to all the beings behind her and they all transformed into mist, rushing into her body as she rose to her feet and her body became solid, touchable._

_Aang's eyes widened and he unconsciously stood up, as well, mirroring his past life. He hesitantly walked towards Yangchen and she stepped forward as well. As he stopped right before her, uncertain of what to do, she smiled gently, almost motherly, and pulled him in for a fierce hug._

_It was then, during that moment, as her arms were wrapped around him, that he felt surrounded by his people; he could feel the Air Nomads again, feel their soothing and life-cherishing energy wrapping around him in a blanket of freedom. Aang clutched Yangchen tightly and, together, they sank down to their knees, both weeping and mourning for their lost race and people._

After cleaning up the Southern Air Temple, Aang had then soon traveled to the other three Air Temples and done the same. The Earth Kingdom refugees who stayed in the Northern Temple tried to help with the ceremony, but Aang had stubbornly, Earthbender-like denied them.

It was something that he had had to do for himself.

When he had begun reconstructing the Northern Temple, he had enlisted the Mechanic's help in designing the new layout for the Temple. That had been the first time, nor had it been the last, when he had realized that not all of the Air Nomad society customs would be seen again; some would die with him. Then, after making the modifications and reconstructing the damaged structure, Aang had finally begun to teach the Earth Kingdom refugees the Air Nomad way of life. It was his one condition if they were going to stay at the Temple, it was something that he refused to budge on. They must adopt the Air Nomad way and lifestyle as their own, and they must teach the future generations, too. They would now be Air Nomads in everything except bending.

After several weeks, he had deemed them adequate enough not to need his constant supervision. He had been so impressed and thankful for Teo's efforts to immerse himself in Aang's culture, that he had even attempted to heal Teo's paralyzed legs. After multiple sessions, he had been able to return full feeling to the limbs, but that was it. He didn't have the necessary skill to completely heal them, and he hadn't wanted to draw upon the Avatar State, wary of showcasing such terrible power to the new Air Nomads, but Teo hadn't cared. He had been ecstatic and thanked Aang profusely. When he had left the Northern Air Temple, he had promised that once he became more skilled in healing, he would fully heal Teo's legs.

When he had arrived at the Western Temple, it was unsurprisingly and thankfully deserted. He had wanted to be alone as he gave the fallen Air Nomads their proper final rights, not wanting another scene where he had had dozens of eyes cataloging his every move.

Once he had finished, shedding even more tears, Aang had begun to rebuild the Temple, and he had seen the signs from when he and the Gaang had camped at the Temple for several weeks, and the brief battles that had taken place, the memory of the Fire Nation War Ship crashing through the ancient walls ever-present. The restoration had been difficult because Western Temple had been the most damaged out of all of the Temples – it was closest to the Fire Nation – but, after a month, he had completed the task.

Upon arriving at the Eastern Temple, Guru Pathik had been waiting for him. Aang bowed to him and his spiritual mentor had done the same.

 _"I had a feeling that you would return here."_  Pathik had smiled with a twinkle in his eyes and it was so reminiscent of Gyatso that Aang had felt tears well up in his eyes.

 _"It's so good to see you again."_  Aang had stepped forward and pulled the Guru into a hug. Pathik's laughter made its way to his ear, and when he had pulled back from the hug, he could have sworn that he had seen Gyatso standing behind Pathik for just a moment.

_"Come, Aang – and Appa and Momo, too. Let's get you all some onion and banana juice."_

Aang had laughed, peace setting in his heart as he had been in the presence of one who grieved for the Air Nomads just as he had.  _"You know, that sounds really good, Pathik."_

Since Pathik had not been an Airbender, he had never been able to give the fallen Air Nomads their proper rights. Aang had quickly set up the ceremony while Pathik stood off to the side, gazing morosely at the pyre.

Once finished with the ritual, Aang had set to work on renovating the temple, and with the Guru's help, he had been able to finish in only a few days. Before he had left, though, Pathik had given him a foreboding-filled warning.

_"Peace has not yet been fully restored, Aang. There are dark forces who are plotting to throw the world back into chaos. It may be decades, maybe centuries, or even tomorrow, but another Great War will be waged across this world."_

Aang had been confused, and more than a little afraid. " _And who are these dark forces?"_  He had questioned incredulously.

 _"Names have power, Aang - I cannot tell you. It is something that you must discover on your own, my friend."_  Pathik's words had been stated adamantly.

Aang had then left the Eastern Air Temple feeling defeated and weary.

When he had finally returned to the Southern Temple again, he hadn't known what to do. The world was well on its way to recovering, and it falsely seemed that the Avatar wasn't needed, especially since he had personally invested his time in visiting the three remaining nations to make sure that no disorder would arise.

He had stayed for over a year in the Fire Nation after Zuko's ascension to help solidify his friend's rule. Then, he had traveled throughout the Earth Kingdom to settle disputes. After over half of a year there, he had journeyed to the Water Tribes to help them rebuild.

When staying in the Southern Water Tribe, Aang had realized that he didn't truly love Katara. He was only in love with the idea of her. He needed someone who could accept him for who he truly was: the world's babysitter. And Katara wasn't that person. She feared him. Not Aang, but the Avatar. She had always looked at him differently after the Avatar State had made an appearance like she was looking to see if the monster was truly gone. He honestly couldn't blame her, for he doubted any woman in the world wouldn't be horrified by the Avatar State.

And Aang belonged to the world first. Any relationships or family would be put second, or even third. Katara could not and would never accept that, leading to countless fights that always entailed the same arguments. She also wouldn't want the pressure of being the mother to an entire nation. So, he had ended things with her. She hadn't seemed too disappointed, actually the opposite, if he wasn't mistaken.

Every person who he had met during his travels had always, unbearably found a way to ask him the same question.  _'Have you discovered any hidden Airbenders?'_ And his response had always been the same, becoming answered in a darker tone after each question: no.

He had begun teaching the refugees in the Northern Temple the beliefs and customs of his people, but it wasn't enough, nothing was enough, no matter how hard he had tried.

He was still the Last Airbender.

The Sages of every nation had kept pestering him to bed as many women as possible to bring life to his dead race, but every time, he had always found the idea detestable. Yet, he was the Avatar, and it was his duty to preserve balance and there couldn't be balance with only three nations. The Avatar Cycle would eventually be broken, and it would be all his fault if that happened because he had been too selfish. Aang knew that if he had to, he would concede to the Sages, but he knew that he would probably never forgive himself. That wasn't what he wanted, it wasn't who he wanted to be.

Aang truly yearned for someone who wouldn't fear him, and who would willingly accept every part of him, challenge him, and would always be honest with him. He needed somebody who would be willing to help bring back the Airbenders, and a woman who wouldn't be disappointed if their future children weren't a bender from their homeland. But he didn't want a woman too willing, someone who just wanted him for the power and fame and glory it would surely, inevitably bring her. The future Mother of the Air Nomads' name would echo throughout history, songs and poems declared in her honor as she alone would bear an entire nation.

Coming out of his recollection of the previous eight years, Aang stared out over the mountain, sighing. He closed his eyes, trying to draw upon the peace that had eluded him for years. If he was being truthful with himself, he had lost hope of ever finding that someone. He'd traveled the world several times over, and no one had ever caught his interest. He had even begun to think that he would have no choice but to succumb to the Sages' wishes.

It also didn't help that he was slowly descending into madness, the frequently-seen spirits of the fallen airbending children at the Temple assaulting his eyes, making him feel his loss so much more. Was that going to be his legacy? After all of his immense work, would he then be known as the Mad Balance-Keeper? What would history declare about him? How would his reign as Avatar be hailed amongst his predecessors and future successors?

Shaking his head, he solemnly made his way to the top of the Temple and summoned Roku forward from the depths of his mind and soul.

" _Hello, Aang,"_ Roku's voice was the same as it always was and Aang took peace from the steady sound.

"Hello, Roku. I'm so confused and I don't know…" he trailed off quietly, not truly knowing what he wanted to say to his past life.

Roku simply nodded,  _"You are feeling your burden as the Avatar more than ever before, aren't you?"_ He asked solemnly.

"And I don't know what to do!" He exploded, all of the negative emotions that had been festering for years swelling inside. "I ended the war but why does it feel like I still have so much more to do?" Aang questioned brokenly.

" _That is the curse of being the Avatar."_ Roku declared, his powerful voice echoing across the mountain. " _Many people are jealous and wish our power for their own, but they are ignorant, Aang, so terribly ignorant. Every time when we have been reincarnated, we have never wanted to be the Avatar, my friend. We always wanted to give the title and power to someone else, but we couldn't."_ Roku frowned, golden eyes narrowing,  _"Well, except Kuruk, but he later realized the curse that we have always been burdened with."_

Aang nodded tiredly, knowing that it was the truth, "Kuruk had been arrogant during his life, even after Ummi's abduction by Koh." He murmured, watching his past life.

" _Yes, but after Koh's actions that day, he became unrecognizable to everyone who had ever somewhat known him; the grief had warped his personality, turning an arrogant, but good man cruel._ _You have always been a gentle soul, Aang. Do not become corrupted by grief as Avatar Kuruk did."_ Roku looked him in the eye,  _"It is an all-too familiar sight: someone who becomes distorted in their heart to who they once were."_ Roku gazed at him morosely, " _You have suffered your whole life, Aang, and that is my fault. I failed utterly in my duty, in ways that are unbecoming of an Avatar. Nothing from the past century would have happened if I had done my job."_

"I've forgiven you for that, Roku,"

Roku only closed his eyes, ignoring Aang's words, and he saw memories of his life flash before his eyes and, throughout it all, he could hear Roku's voice.  _"You had always felt different from the other Air Nomads and you never realized why that was until you were told of your identity as the Avatar far too soon. And when you awoke from a century of sleep, it was to find a world that had been ravaged by war. Everything was different, and you learned of the massacre of the Air Nomads with no one there to share your grief because of my foolish mistakes. You were then given an impossible task: to master the elements in less than a year and defeat the Fire Nation."_ Aang then saw himself merge with the Spirit of the Ocean and the subsequent annihilation of the Fire Navy.  _"You've seen death..."_ he saw himself destroying General Fong's base in his rage,  _"and people have died by your hands."_

He came out of his trance in a rush, "No, they didn't! That wasn't me, it was the Avatar Spirit!" Aang protested vehemently, "How could you say that?" He finished, glaring at Roku.

" _You are the spirit of the world in mortal form, Aang,"_ Roku opened his eyes and lifted his head.  _"Just as I was and just as every Avatar has ever been, Air Nomad or not"_

"But I would never kill those people!" Aang cried out in disbelief.

" _You would never kill those people on purpose."_ Roku pointed out and he sighed deeply,  _"You are capable of unimaginable rage, Aang. Whenever the Avatar State is triggered when you are in emotional distress, your anger is joined with all your predecessors and all of the negative mortal emotions that they had felt during their reign as Avatar. And when that happens, people inevitably get caught in the crossfire. When gods fight or get angry, my friend, mortals are the ones who die, not the gods."_

Aang shook his head, trying to stop the flashes, the mists! Sightless eyes stared back at him and he tried to look away, but he couldn't. "No, I wouldn't…" he trailed off, a deep part of him recognizing that Roku was right, but he couldn't accept it, he couldn't!

" _I killed people during my reign as Avatar."_ Roku smiled grimly, whispers of sadness at the edges,  _"I should have killed Sozin, I know that now. Even though he was my best friend, I should have killed him for the good of the world, but I refused to do so. Instead, I allowed my sentiment to cloud my judgment, Aang, and you know what inevitably happened because of my weakness."_

He spluttered in outrage, "But he was your best friend! How could you say that? I saw your memories and saw the goodness that had been in Sozin."

" _That goodness that had once existed in my friend had long been exterminated when he began the Great War, Aang."_  Roku's voice was hard, on the brink of reprimanding.  _"Look at what he did to your people, and all of the other nations."_

His eyes narrowed into slits, the air around them beginning to howl with displeasure. "Don't you dare bring my people into this!"

" _It displeases me to provoke your familial ties to the Air Nomads, Aang, it truly does, but it is the only way for you to see the truth. Sozin was my best friend, yes, but he turned into a monster, a monster whom would terrorize the world for decades."_

Aang released the air in his lungs and pivoted to Roku's point earlier, "Well, how could you kill those people you mentioned? And what about-"

Roku interrupted, _"I do not regret killing those people. I wish I did, but I don't and, frankly, they deserved it."_ He suddenly seemed weary, _"It is our duty to preserve peace no matter what, Aang. That is the sole purpose for which the Avatar exists. I know you were born to the Air Nomads, but you have to remember that you are not just an Airbender. You are a Waterbender, Earthbender, and a Firebender. You are all the elements, just as you are all the nations."_ Roku looked at him expectantly.

He was frozen in place. He had the feeling that he had spoken this conversation before. Perhaps, in one of his past lives, but he still couldn't accept it. "I didn't kill Ozai. I took his bending instead." Aang said triumphantly.

Roku nodded, _"Yes, I know, but sometimes the only solution is the vilest. There are beings more powerful than a Fire Lord under Sozin's Comet, Aang."_ Roku warned and then gazed out into the open sky.  _"In every lifetime we have killed because there is always a threat. And it is always the Avatar's duty to dispose of that threat. Do you think that the Air Nomad Avatars haven't killed? If so, you are wrong, my friend."_

Aang knew that his predecessor was right; he was not just an Airbender, he was the Avatar, but he continued to latch onto the beliefs of his dead people because that's all he had left of them. "But there has to be another way!" He cried out desperately, remembering Yangchen's words the day before he had faced Ozai, remembering how she had revealed that it was foolish not to kill Ozai.

Roku smiled reassuringly _, "You don't have to kill everyone, Aang. Most Avatars have only killed when the situation was dire, and no other choice presented itself, me included."_ Roku began to fade away,  _"Do not let yourself change into someone unrecognizable. Remember who you are and think about the advice I've given you."_ He suddenly dispersed into mist and flew back into his body.

Aang fell onto his back and stared at the sky as if it had all the answers. Pathik's warning was fresh in his mind after years, and so was Roku's warning minutes previously about beings of far greater power than Ozai under Sozin's Comet. He felt so tired. He closed his eyes and he heard Roku one last time,  _"You are never alone, Aang."_ His voice was soothing, and it allowed Aang to finally relax and sleep.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Aang found himself in the library, one of the largest parts of the Temple. He had initially been surprised it had survived the attack over a century ago, but he was more than grateful, nonetheless - the scrolls should have eroded long ago, but somehow, they were still in pristine condition.

When he had run away at twelve-years-old after discovering that he and Gyatso were going to be separated, when he had first left the Temple with no guardian, he hadn't known everything that he should have of the Air Nomad culture, and as a result, since he was now the last of the Air Nomads, he didn't truly know everything he should about the culture that he was trying to revitalize. So, he had finally decided that only the library could truly help him in rectifying his problem.

The library was massive, and he was wary that Wan Shi Tong, He-Who-Knows-Ten-Thousand-Things, would try to steal all of the knowledge that had been amassed in the Temple for thousands of years, since the dawn of the Air Nomads. Countless scrolls and frescoed walls stared back at him, the ancient pillars of inscribed marble shining under Agni's rays. Inhaling from the realization that he would have to sort through the thousands upon thousands of scrolls in the library of not just the Southern Temple, but all of the Air Temples, he decided to worry about it later.

After walking to the center of the library, Aang squatted down, and with the aid of his airbending, jumped towards the thousand-foot ceiling. Blurring past dozens upon dozens of rows and shelves and columns, he placed an air-ball underneath him and sat down, floating just underneath the ceiling, his bald head almost touching. For several moments, he simply floated there, gazing at all of the scrolls that he could see, and one caught his eye. It looked incandescent, divine, as if the Air Spirit herself had created it. The symbol of air engraved in the seal seemed alive when he looked at it, and with a wave of his arm, the air carried the scroll to his awaiting hands.

Aang scattered the air-ball into nonexistence and easily floated back down to the ground from the thousand-foot height. He unfurled the scroll and sat down, gray eyes eagerly devouring the text. The rays of Agni streamed through the window and he was easily able to read the characters.

His jaw slightly dropped as his eyes bulged from their sockets, disbelief carved into his features. The scroll was one of an ancient airbending form. It detailed how an Airbender could achieve true flight without the use of a glider or a bubble of air as Aang had used in the Avatar State multiple times, specifically against Ozai during Sozin's Comet.

After rereading it multiple times, making certain that his eyes weren't deceiving him, Aang looked up in awe. How could he have never heard of such an ability for an Airbender? He had always thought it strange how airbending didn't advance beyond what he already knew, but now, he knew better.

It made sense, though, the true flight for an Airbender, because each of the bending arts had an advanced power that only few could ever achieve: Waterbenders could bend the very blood in someone's body during the full moon, Earthbenders had the potential to bend metal, and Firebenders could generate lightning and, apparently, combustion-bending since Combustion Man had been hired by Zuko.

And now, Aang had finally unearthed the advanced power for the Airbenders.

Aang looked back down at the scroll, eyes roaming over the two sentences.  _'Let go of the misconceptions that plague you. Enter the void and become the wind.'_

He looked up in bemusement, flabbergasted by how little the scroll detailed about the actual ability. He didn't have any misconceptions that he was aware of, so why did he still need a glider or the Avatar State to fly?

The Avatar State! Directly before Azula had shot him with lightning in Ba Sing Se, he had been weightless, glaring down at the Dai Li agents and Zuko, floating as if he were the Air Spirit herself. Aang looked at his tattooed hands, realizing that one or more of his predecessors had unlocked this ability, the ability of true flight for Airbenders.

But he had no idea who it could be, though. There have been countless Avatars, since the beginning of time. He was the World Spirit incarnate, so any of them could have unlocked true flight, but Aang had a feeling that only a few ever actually did.

He knew that he would have to ask his past lives, but he had no idea where to start. Roku had probably never heard of the power. He didn't like Kyoshi, so that meant that she wouldn't be summoned forward. He would bet all of the gold in Zuko's coffers that Kuruk wouldn't know, but Yangchen might actually have leads. He moved into the Lotus Position and called her forward.

" _Hello, Aang,"_

"Avatar Yangchen," he nodded his head in greeting. "What do you know about true flight?"

" _Only legends, my friend, only legends, tales that old Airbenders wove when they could no longer hold a glider."_

Aang frowned and held up the scroll for her to see, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "Then what is this?"

Yangchen's eyes widened in surprise, her ethereal features a mass of shock. It was the first emotion that Aang had ever seen from her besides sorrow and pain.  _"Where did you get this?"_ She breathed out, disbelief echoing in her words.

Aang pointed up to the shelf from where he took the scroll. "It was on the top one. My head was grazing the ceiling, you know."

Yangchen then scrutinized the shelf.  _"I had never believed those tales,"_ _she finally said after several moments of silence._ _"But now it seems that the legends are true."_ She looked back at him, eyes narrowed.  _"It is strange, though, isn't it, Avatar Aang? Why the Elders of the Southern Air Temple would have that scroll in the library where anyone can find it?"_

"The libraries in all of the Air Temples are designed so that the more complicated and advanced forms are on the higher shelves. The more that an Airbender practices and trains, the higher they will be able to jump. So, only a true Master of Air could have ever hoped to reach that high."

She waved his words away impatiently, looking like she had refrained from actually rolling her eyes.  _"Yes, yes, I know, but I have never seen an Airbender who achieved true flight. If there was always a scroll detailing that ability in this Temple's library, then why have you, or I, never heard of a Master of Air who used that power?"_ Yangchen questioned seriously.

Aang blinked as he realized that he didn't actually have a factual answer; he finally began to understand what Avatar Yangchen was implying.

"The Elders would have never put it there," he commented at last.

 _"Yes, so I see that you have come to the same realization as I have. This is something that you must contemplate over. If you want my advice: you should go deeper into the Avatar Cycle to find the answers that you desperately seek. Those who reigned thousands of years ago might know something."_ Yangchen suddenly dispersed and rushed back into his body.

Aang stared at the spot where Yangchen had just been and then glanced down at the scroll still held in his hand. He groaned aloud, knowing that something - whether good or evil, he wasn't certain - was going to happen, sooner or later. But he did know now without a doubt that something or someone was coming, and he had the feeling that this new threat, this dark threat that Pathik had spoken of years ago, was coming directly for him. Pathik and Roku's warnings, the discovery of this scroll, everything that had happened: puzzle pieces were beginning to come together, but he didn't know what the final result would be.

But, just in case that he was wrong, he decided not to share his discoveries until he was absolutely certain he was right. He was only doing it because he didn't want to needlessly worry anyone. It had nothing to do with the fact that the Gaang had, in essence, basically abandoned him, nothing at all.

Knowing that he was lying to himself, but not really caring, Aang picked up the scroll and jumped out of the window into the courtyard below. Appa greeted him with a mighty roar and Momo wrapped himself around Aang's neck, the fur on his friend tickling his skin.

"Hey, you guys," he smiled at them. These two had been through it all with him, they had stood by his side, and they all had one thing in common: they were all the last of their kind.

During his travels, Aang had frequently searched for any creatures in similar appearance to his friends, even asking non-Airbenders, who had no idea what a Sky Bison or Winged Lemur actually looked like, if they had heard any rumors of creatures like Appa and Momo, or actually seen them. And just as he had always expected, they had always answered with the word 'no'.

Aang honestly, heartbreakingly had no idea what to do about that. At least for him, he could have children, as the Sages had kept on pestering him about since the Great War ended, but it was different for his friends. If there was no female Sky Bison or female Winged Lemurs in the entire world, then once Appa and Momo, spirits forbid, pass on, the race of Sky Bison and Winged Lemurs would become truly extinct, ceasing to exist.

Not wanting to ruminate over how close all the Children of Air, humans and animals, were to extinction, Aang sighed heavily. He had thought that once the Great War was over, he would finally be able to relax but problems have kept arising like invisible plagues, weighing Aang down until all that remained was a shard of the boy he once was.

He needed a vacation, and a long one, at that. Becoming excited at the thought, he looked at his friends, "What do you think, you guys? Does a vacation sound like a good idea?" A deafening roar from Appa and a shriek of agreement from Momo reached his ears, and Aang smiled, beginning to construct a suitable plan.

They would need to travel to a place where no one would ever expect them to be. He wanted to drop off the face of the world for at least a few months and none of the Air Temples would help him do just that. Ba Sing Se was then out, for the moment Appa was seen in the distance, the city would react, rumors of his arrival spreading like a fire itself. The Water Tribes would only try to garner his favor, offering viable brides to become the future Mother of the Air Nomads, and moreso, the North would only bicker that Sokka, their new heir, was only a non-bender instead of a Waterbender. So, that left the Fire Nation and it was the only sure bet, in all honesty, to accomplish what he had decided. Who would suspect that the Avatar would hide in the very nation that had slaughtered his own? No one and it would be perfect. He just needed to think of a suitable place.

Ember Island.

If it had worked during the twilight of the Great War, surely it would work now. He glanced at his friends, realizing that it would take a little over two weeks to get there, so he would have to plan accordingly, especially for food.

There was also the matter of his appearance. The Air Nomads hadn't been a people who yearned to be forgotten, to only stay in the shadows, but Aang himself had evolved into that type of person.

He would need to blend in, for his tattoos weren't inconspicuous at all, especially his arrow. So, he'd have to grow his hair out and wear his headband, just as he had after the fall of Ba Sing Se and his mortal wounding from Azula. He grabbed his glider, the very same one that he had found when he was fixing up the Southern Temple, finding it in a room with dozens of other original airbending staffs. Although he was grateful for the Mechanic's creation of a staff on the Day of Black Sun, he would always prefer a true airbending glider.

He noticed Appa stand to his feet, intelligent eyes alert and determined and ready. Momo and looped himself on of Appa's horns, and with the scroll held tightly in his tattooed-hand, Aang leaped onto his friend's back, commanding him to begin the journey to the Fire Nation, to Ember Island.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Appa sat down in the courtyard of Zuko's home on Ember Island and Aang hopped off, inhaling in relief as he gratefully stretched his legs. With a surprised eye, he appraised the place and noticed that it looked the same as it did eight years ago. Zuko, it seemed, clearly didn't like being at his family's old vacation home, so Aang thought that his friend wouldn't mind if he stayed there for a little bit, especially since no one in the Fire Nation would dare to be caught on the property.

Aang ran his hand through his black hair, and it still felt weird, no matter how much time had passed, but it did feel kind of nice, actually. One of the downsides to having his tattoos was that people always knew who he was and, inevitably, worshiped him. Although he always tolerated it, he didn't necessarily like it or think that he was deserving of it. It had been his fault that the Great War had become so blood-soaked in the first place. He was more deserving if the people cursed his name, not hailing him as a god. Looking at his reflection in an oval-shaped piece of ice that he had created, he determined that if he was wearing his headband, no one would ever recognize him as long as he kept the tattoos on his hands invisible. During the rare times he had had to stop and gather food for himself, Momo, and Appa in towns, nobody had looked at him twice. He had just been a regular human instead of the Master of the Four Elements. It had felt nice being normal. No one had known who he was, and now that he had finally arrived on Ember Island, he could finally take a much-needed break.

Appa grumbled at him and Aang laughed in amusement, watching his friend's eyelids already begin to droop. "Yes, go ahead, buddy. You're safe here, I promise, okay?" His best friend then immediately plopped himself down, and almost instantly, the Sky Bison was asleep.

Momo chattered at Aang drowsily and then curled himself around Appa's horn, eyes fluttering shut. Aang smiled and truly hoped that his fellow last-of-their-kind found females of their kind. After making certain that they would be undisturbed, he then turned around and entered the house.

The house was dark, eerie as the dust was thick in the air, and Aang felt the tissue around the scar on his back tighten in warning, foreboding whispering in his ears.

Ominous shadows were at the forefront in his mind and he cautiously called out, "Hello, I'm… Kuzon, a friend of Fire Lord Zuko's." No response was heard so he continued into the halls, eyes darting to and fro, taking note of the pictures on the wall, but ignoring them. After several moments, he felt the air currents shift.

There was someone right behind him.

Knowing that he was now in the presence of someone dangerous because not just anyone could sneak up on him, Aang slowly raised his arms and turned around. If this person became hostile, a viable threat to not just his life, but that of Appa's and Momo's, he was easily prepared to blow the intruder through the wall using airbending from his mouth.

When he finally faced the person, the first thought he had was how beautiful the woman was, the most strikingly attractive that he had ever seen. He loomed over her easily, eyes cataloging that her posture was tense, and he dimly wondered if Zuko had any cousins that he had never mentioned besides Iroh's son, Lu Ten. Who else besides the Fire Royal Family would be in the Fire Lord's home? When their eyes met, lightning exploded behind his lids, eyes beginning to see the past.

_Ba Sing Se. Dai Li. Avatar State. Katara. Blue Flames. Zuko. Azula. Pain. Scorching and agonizing pain. Then, nothing._

When he opened his eyes once more, surprised that he was even still alive, the sight of curious golden eyes greeted him, forcing him to realize that this wasn't a nightmare or an illusion. The golden eyes were the same as the ones that had stared him down smugly eight years ago. He knew those golden eyes, had envisioned them in his dreams for years. "Azula," he whispered, hysteria threatening to overwhelm him as memories of lightning ravaging his body assaulted his mind.

Her eyes widened slightly when he murmured her name, and then they narrowed, body tensing even further. When she didn't immediately attack him, he felt something unclench in his soul. Something was off. She had changed, and he wondered if Zuko had taken his advice and released the chi-blockers from his sister's service. He now didn't know what to do. Azula was obviously out of her prison, yet she hadn't killed him when she had had the chance, and Zuko would have sent a Warhawk if Azula had somehow escaped.

Realizing that the winds of fate had deemed this event more substantial than first glance, Aang slowly lowered his arms. Azula's eyes darted down and focused on the now-clearly-visible tattoos on his hands. "Avatar," she breathed, and fear was then carved into her face within a blink of the eye, the first time that he had ever seen such an expression on her lovely features. Her hands suddenly became alight with sapphire flames. "Zuko let me go," she said adamantly. "I didn't escape, he let me go." She enunciated clearly, golden eyes desperate.

When she didn't press an immediate attack after her declaration, Aang sighed. He had no idea that this would have happened when he decided to hide here. Perhaps fate was punishing him for trying to take a vacation. "And why on Devi's green Earth would Zuko do something like that?" He questioned politely, still prepared for an attack.

Azula snuffed out her flames and tilted her head up at him, "Because I needed to be, Avatar. My life was in danger."

Aang groaned inwardly, knowing that his vacation plans had just been eviscerated. "Very well, I would like to hear the details, then."

XxXxXxXxXxX

**Kind of a short chapter, but I was content with how I ended it. Please, leave a review so I can get feedback!**

****So, Aang is all alone, save for Appa, Momo, and his past lives; pretty lonely. And yes, Aang did kill people in Canon. I think that it's completely illogical for one to deny it. Just look at the Northern Water Tribe during the Fire Nation invasion. After Zhao, the utter buffoon had killed the Moon Spirit, the Fire Nation's victory was assured until Aang goes into the Avatar State and** **_wipes out_ ** **their entire navy. How many men and women were on those ships? It was more than ten thousand, I'm pretty sure. And then, what about General Fong's Earth Kingdom base in** **_The Avatar State_ ** **episode? After Katara was 'drowned' under the Earth, thus triggering the Avatar State, Aang decimated the entire base, including all of the buildings, and healing huts. I'd reckon that people were occupying those shelters during that fiasco.**

****I'm sure that you noticed, but I did use Guru Laghima's saying from** **_Legend of Korra_ ** **but changed some of the wording. I wanted Aang to discover True Flight because I think that if anyone could truly 'unlock' such an ability, it would be him.**

**Also, the true flight is the same thing Zaheer somehow unlocked in** **_Legend of Korra_ ** **. To be honest, I have never understood why people have made such a big deal about him unlocking that ability, even though it is pretty cool. We've seen the Sky Bison do the** _**exact same** _ **thing in every episode of the series, and, plus, in Ba Sing Se, Aang did that exact thing as well, if you remember.**

**I enjoyed Zaheer as a villain, but it was ridiculous how he seemed to master airbending almost immediately. The only person that we know of, in Canon, who can do something like that is Aang himself, like when he was learning waterbending before Katara kind of ruined it for him, and that is because he's the Avatar and a natural prodigy, a genius when it comes to bending.** **_"I've mastered the elements a thousand times in one thousand lifetimes, and now, I must do it once again."_ **

**Back to Zaheer, I liked the action scenes but his reasoning for his entire employment as a villain, at least to me, made no sense at all. Zaheer's rhetoric is something about freedom and only true freedom exists when darkness rules all and there is no government. So, he's basically an anarchist, but he doesn't even really have a good reason for being one, from what I've thought about. The reality is, is that he didn't get his way with the legal system during his younger years and decided to illogically declare that the entire system was corrupt because of his own bratty and petulant attitude. If you can offer some good insight into Zaheer's philosophy and actions that let me know that I'm completely wrong, I'd appreciate it because I truly enjoyed Zaheer except for his philosophy which seemed, at least to me, like that of a man-child's.**

**Tell me what you think, everybody!**

**_Stay safe_ ** _**  
** _ **ButtonPusher**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender**

XxXxXxXxXxX

Azula sipped her cup of tea and Aang waited patiently for her to begin.

After several moments, Azula looked out the window to stare at Agni's setting light. "I've been imprisoned for years now," she began, voice as strong as he had always remembered, but there was something different about it – it lacked a certain cold and predatory quality. "But I would've been released a few years ago if it wasn't for the Earth Kingdom. Zuzu feared that if he released me, it would restart the Great War." She frowned.

Aang nodded in understanding, "Yes, I know, your brother and I have spoken at lengths about it. It was even my idea to give you your firebending back, releasing the chi-blockers from your service."

"Yes, and I thank you truly, Avatar," she gazed at him intently, golden eyes roaming his face, searching for something. "It was a gift beyond all others, but yet I don't know why you convinced Zuzu to do it." Some desperation had begun to seep into her tone, startling him. "Why? You should despise me after everything I did to you – and your little group, too."

"While your actions were detestable," he said bluntly, surprising her. "You were only a child, a daughter who only wanted to please her father. And, plus, you're not the only child who made mistakes during the Great War – and even before the Great War had started." He whispered, gray eyes flashing with memories of all the people he had ended up dooming to certain death because he had run away from the Southern Air Temple, and images of his people burning.

She nodded, seeming to understand that she would have better luck in convincing him to believe her if she didn't press him about his own 'mistakes' made. "Anyway, Zuzu feared another Great War, one that he couldn't win."

Aang sighed because he probably knew the situation better than she did, or maybe he didn't. After all, Azula had always seemed to know everything when she had been hunting him all of those years ago.

When he had first stayed in the Fire Nation after the Great War, he and Zuko had spoken about his sister and how the Fire Lord needed to handle the situation with the utmost care, specifically provoking his familial loyalty to his sister, and how the Earth Kingdom would, no doubt, want to put her on trial for her accomplishment of conquering Ba Sing Se.

And he had been right, for when the Great War had ended, and after months of brutal and harsh negotiations began, the other nations had finally demanded their reparations. The Water Tribes had wanted a small fleet of Fire Nations ships for each Tribe, whereas the Earth Kingdom, and Ba Sing Se specifically, would only accept the conquers of Ba Sing Se. Knowing that Kuei had every right to demand such a thing, Aang had first agreed with the King of the great city of Ba Sing Se. But when he had actually visited Azula, the conqueror of Ba Sing Se, he had been appalled to see how far her once-beautiful mind had deteriorated. She hadn't even blinked at him when he had stepped into her cell. Her eyes had shone with a blankness, emptiness and he doubted that she had even known who he was, or that he had even been there.

Realizing that he wouldn't allow Azula then to be sent over to Ba Sing Se, he had advised Zuko to use his sister's  _mental_  health as a weapon. Zuko then contacted King Kuei and told him of his decision, citing that he refused to hand over his sister because he didn't want her to kill any innocents because her health was unpredictable. Instead, Zuko was forced to hand over Mai and Ty Lee, but they had,  _unfortunately_ _, '_ escaped' before their journey in chains to Ba Sing Se.

Kuei had hesitantly accepted the offer and the matter seemed forgotten, but now Aang realized that it wasn't. The Earth Kingdom had been biding its time, waiting for the right moment to strike, specifically when Zuko was most vulnerable and would be willing to condemn his only sister to an undoubted painful death. "So, your brother just let you go?" He asked almost incredulously, "I find that hard to believe, I truly do, especially since all of the guards would know about it."

She then smirked at him, the sight reminiscent of the girl she had used to be, but different at the same time. "My, Avatar, you are naïve. And to answer your question: well, not exactly." Her head tilted to the side, golden eyes locking onto his gray ones.

_Azula looked up when her door opened and Zuzu walked in, immediately noticing his condition. Paranoia was carved into his features, golden eyes darting to the door almost every second. He wasn't wearing his crown, and his shaggy black hair tumbled down to his shoulders in natural curls, and it brutally reminded her of how he had used to look after Ba Sing Se's subjugation, of how they had been reunited, the two children of Ozai and Ursa, the newest branch of the Royal House of Agni, the next generation of Fire Nation Royal Bloodline. But then he had decided to join the Avatar after Azula had given him everything._

_Her eyes narrowed, "What's wrong?" She demanded, "What do you want?"_

_Zuzu didn't hesitate as he stepped closer to her, "You have to get out of here, all right? If I don't hand you over to the Earth Kingdom, they will declare war, even Omashu, and the Water Tribes will unsurprisingly join them. I cannot afford another war, not at all; the Fire Nation would be defeated, and we both know that the Children of Fire would soon become extinct just as the Air Nomads if they are under Earth and Water rule." He said bluntly._

" _Then amass the army and crush them, brother," she leaned forward. "Surely you weren't… stupid enough to dismantle the Fire Nation's military; it's the strongest in the world." When her brother didn't say anything, her eyes widened in disbelief. "You didn't!"_

_He swallowed, "I did dismantle almost all of it, and while it had seemed like a good idea at the time, I recognize now that it was a great mistake."_

" _And uncle let you do something so unwise? I find that hard to fathom."_

_Zuzu clenched his fists, sparks of flames appearing but Azula wasn't impressed. "Uncle wasn't here during that time; he was at his fucking tea shop, the Jasmine Dragon," he hissed with no small amount of bitterness, and Azula realized that their uncle had chosen poorly for his place of permanent residence. "Out of anyone who advised me, the Avatar was the only one who I trusted, and when he warned me that disassembling most of the Fire Nation's army would be imprudent, and rather counseled me to dismantle half the military but increase the number of actual soldiers per each unit, I neglected to listen, wondering how an Air Nomad, the very person who let our father live, could say such a thing." Her brother rubbed his forehead, "I had thought the mushrooms he had eaten were poor in quality, so I discarded his words."_

_Azula raised her brow at how smart the Avatar, that little boy who she had battled eight years ago, was and, at the same time, wondered how her brother could have been so dim-witted, but she couldn't change the past, only instead work to secure her future. "Okay, so then why did you say that I have to get out of here? Has that spineless Kuei finally grown a backbone, brother mine?"_

_"King Kuei of Ba Sing Se has announced – quite forcefully, I might add – that you, the Princess Azula, be handed over at once to Ba Sing Se. It seems that my attempts to stay their hand have finally lost their luster, and Kuei will undoubtedly put you on trial in front of the entire city and have you executed, probably publicly." She was unsurprised by the news, but what did surprise her was the fierce glow in her brother's eyes. "And that's something that I refuse to allow to happen."_

_She smirked, "And you are attempting to rescue me, Zuzu, isn't that right? How very big brother of you. You truly take being the older sibling seriously." She said sweetly._

_Zuzu grit his teeth, "I will probably never forgive you for some of the things that you've done, this included," he tapped his chest where her lightning strike had hit, and a fresh wave of guilt did spread through her mind. "And while you have made good progress, especially with mother, I don't trust you." He paused and sighed, pulling his hand through his hair. "But you're my little sister and I love you. You will not face Kuei's ire, nor that of the Earth Kingdom's, I promise."_

_Emotions welled within her at his words, and she realized that she was truly thankful to have such a man as her brother, "Thank you, Zuzu," she whispered, not wanting him to see how affected she was by his words._

_He straightened his posture and Azula knew that he was about to divulge his true reason for his impromptu visit, " I cannot help you, and I truly believe, truly do, that when the guards change shifts just before dawn tomorrow and no one replaces them for several minutes, it would just be bad scheduling and a coincidence." Their golden eyes locked, "I will need to rectify that oversight, but I think that it will take a few days to do so, don't you?" He stared at her._

_Azula smiled, halfway in awe of her brother, who had once been unable to think that way. "Look at you, Zuzu, so cunning. I love it! I'm so proud of you," she clapped her hands slowly and stood to her feet, the candles wavering as she walked past them towards her brother._

_Zuzu watched her warily but didn't stop her. He tensed when she suddenly hugged him but, eventually, hugged her in return, arms wrapping around her back._

" _Thank you, Zuko, thank you," she whispered into his ear. "You are a good brother, a better sibling than I am." She closed her eyes and leaned away, pulling back as she returned to her bed, sitting down gracefully._

_"You know, I hear that Ember Island is nice this time of year, have you heard?" Zuzu asked after the shock had finally worn off, but remnants were still shining in his eyes, though._

_She glared at him, "Absolutely not! That place is too depressing," she hissed out emphatically, golden eyes flashing._

" _Perhaps, perhaps," he conceded, "but it's a perfect place for someone to get away when they have nowhere else to go." He said pointedly, his one eyebrow raised._

_Azula sighed, knowing that he was right, but she would never admit it aloud, least of all to his face. She had already admitted several truths to him that she had sworn never to reveal, so she doubted her vow would hold. "We'll see, Zuzu, we'll see,"_

" _And I hope that you see it's the only option, Azula,"_

_She quickly changed the subject, "And I assume that mother knows all about this?" The expression on his face revealed the truth and she laughed, "Oh, Zuzu, if you haven't told her, then I suppose you'll find out what it feels like to be the least favorite child."_

_He sighed, "I didn't tell her because her emotions would cloud her judgment and if that brings her ire upon me, so be it. She loves you fiercely, you know? Although I know that both pain and hurt linger for you both from the past, it doesn't always have to be that way. When you see mother again, you might just be relieved that she's okay."_

" _Are you a seer now, brother?" She asked mockingly, "Tell me of my fate, would you? What do you see when you stroke my palm?"_

_Zuzu rolled his eyes and turned to go but hesitated, features wavering. He then turned back around and smiled slightly at her, "Good luck, sister, good luck," he said, his smile genuine. "I am not a seer, not at all, but I don't need to be one to know that your mark on this world has not been finished. Your fate isn't to die by the Earth Kingdom's hands, nor is it to remain in a cell for the rest of your life. Your name will echo throughout history and it won't be because of your crimes, but something else entirely." His eyes shone with a knowledge that she didn't possess, and she yearned for it as fire yearned for air._

_Azula then watched as her brother exited the room and heard the door shut. Quickly, her golden eyes flared with fire, her lips pulling into a smile. She couldn't wait until dawn._

Azula sipped her tea again and Aang observed her, feeling her heartbeat with his earthbending and monitoring her breathing. Both were completely even and had not elevated at all during her tale. He remembered how Toph hadn't even been able to know if Azula had been lying when the Princess had declared that she was a four hundred-foot tall purple Platypus Bear with pink horns and silver wings, and now, he was in the same position, but he was better equipped to deal with Azula than anyone else. Although she was immensely dangerous, probably one of the most dangerous people in the world, she wouldn't be a true threat to him, especially since he would be guarded around her. She could be lying, but he found that conclusion unlikely. If she had, in fact, escaped, then Zuko would have immediately messaged him.

Aang pursed his lips and then sighed heavily, "Okay," he shrugged and glanced out the window, towards where Appa and Momo were sleeping.

She looked at him in shock, "That's it? No questions? Nothing?" She paused and then looked at him, smiling. "I could have killed those guards."

Aang wasn't impressed, "Did you?" He questioned with a raised brow.

Azula seemed to deflate, "No," she grumbled.

"And I didn't think so," he declared. "Based on what you told me, the guards would have left a few minutes length of time for you to escape. If everything had gone without a hitch, and considering that it's you, it did go without a hitch, then you would have stumbled across no guards and wouldn't have had to kill them."

Her eyes were wide before a smirk curved across her face, "My, Avatar, you are intelligent," she seemed impressed.

Aang let a smile slip at her expression and she caught it, gazing at him as if for the first time.

His smile dropped and his eyes were drawn to her full lips. He was abruptly reminded that Azula had grown into a beautiful and alluring woman and that while he was the Avatar, hailed as a god by most, he was still only a man, a man who was in the presence of the most stunning woman he had ever seen.

Azula seemed to understand his train of thought and smiled, "Do you see something that you like, Avatar?" She purred, golden eyes gleaming.

Aang blinked at swiftly stood up, needing to diffuse a potentially disastrous situation. "Princess Azula, I'm going to go feed Appa, my Sky Bison. Please, if you would, let me know if you need anything from Ember Island. I would be happy to retrieve any items or food that you need." He all but raced out the room, but paused in the entryway, "I won't remove your bending or report you to the authorities unless you attempt to attack me or kill my Sky Bison and Winged Lemur, I swear." He smiled towards her sitting form, "You will be safe here, Princess Azula, I promise." Aang turned around and then jumped through the window so that he was in the courtyard. He didn't know if he would regret that promise, but he did know one thing: everyone deserved a second chance, even Azula.

XxXxXxXxXxX

After feeding Appa, Aang quickly journeyed down to the beach and gazed out over the moonlit water. He began practicing complicated waterbending forms and found the rhythmic motions soothing, wondering if any of the Water Avatars to ever exist had loved waterbending as much as he loved airbending.

With his earthbending, he felt Azula step outside and walk down to where he was. She aligned herself next to him and watched silently as he bent the water.

"You're different," she stared at the water held in midair.

Aang knew that she was right but was still curious, especially since the woman was once his greatest enemy; he had been warier of coming across Azula than he ever had against Ozai. "And how's that?" He asked softly.

"Well, besides the obvious physical changes, which are very nice," she smirked up at him and Aang abruptly lost control of the water as it fell from his grip into the water with an audible loud splash.

Aang turned to her, baffled by her forwardness, but knew that he shouldn't be. Her mirth was apparent, glowing in her eyes, and he shook his head, releasing a few huffs of laughter. "Okay, and besides that, what else is different?"

Azula hummed and looked back over the ocean, "You have a new edge to you, darker and more intense in some ways. And while you're the Avatar, which means that you hold power and knowledge lost to the sands of time, your eyes are heavy, ancient even. You are older now, and I don't just mean physically." She gazed up into his grey eyes.

He sighed, "I matured, and life happened," he didn't want to have a conversation of his frayed emotions with Azula, the woman who had hunted him across the Earth Kingdom with a tenacity that had, at times, seemed to have outpaced Zuko's.

"Yeah, it tends to do that I've found," she didn't press and Aang was grateful, shocked that she could avoid the subject. He sank down into the sand and Azula followed.

"Yes, it does,"

They stayed together in silence. Aang was surprised to find that it felt nice. He wondered if Azula somehow understood what he was feeling, his unraveled emotions, and if she actually did, he felt a sort of kinship that someone did, even if it was with her.

She then broke the silence, "How can you just sit there calmly? How are you able to even look at me?" Azula's voice was quiet, almost shaky. "I  _shot_  you with  _lightning_  and tried so many times to kill you. I made your life…  _miserable_ ," her fists were clenched at the end and she seemed to almost loathe herself.

He decided to return the favor for when she had complimented his looks, "I can look at you because you are breathtakingly beautiful," he joked, but immediately regretted it when she glared at him.

"I know that but how can you look at me? No matter my beauty, the sight of me should repulse you, Avatar. Yet, it doesn't seem to, and I want to know why that is."

"I've forgiven you," Aang said simply.

Azula shook her head, "That's not good enough! How could you ever forgive me?" She seemed so desperate all of sudden, fingers clenching into fists, and Aang decided to explain.

"You made me better, a better fighter and a more efficient Avatar. When you shot me with lightning, it was agonizing, I won't lie to you, but it also made me realize how rash my actions up to that point had been." Aang turned and looked at her tensed form, "I forgave you because everyone deserves a second chance, even you. I forgave Zuko, so I can forgive you, and I didn't kill your father when I had more reasons to slay him than I do to choose not to forgive you. I chose to forgive Avatar Roku, my predecessor, even though his inactions led to my people's slaughter."

She pulled her lips into a smirk, but Aang could easily see the vulnerability hidden underneath. "And if I don't want to change?" She questioned lightly.

He shrugged, "That's fine, Princess Azula, it's your life. You can choose how you want history to remember you. I'm not going to force you into anything."

Azula looked at him in disbelief, "You can't be serious."

Aang chuckled, "I would definitely prefer if you chose to walk a new path because I think that you have potential that most of the world doesn't, but, ultimately, it's your decision." Aang looked back to the water and waited for her reply.

He wasn't disappointed.

"Well, if Zuzu can change, so can I." Azula declared.

Aang smiled at her, "Good choice, I'm glad that chose correctly," he praised.

Her eyes challenged him, "And I thought that it was my decision?"

"Yes, it was, but I think that you chose correctly. Haven't you heard, Princess Azula? The good guys always eventually win."

A small laugh escaped her lips before she quieted, looking at him seriously. "So, how does this ' _being_ _-_ _good_ _-_ thing' work?" She questioned.

Aang honestly had no idea if she was kidding. He looked at her and she simply stared back at him, awaiting his instructions. He inhaled slowly and said, "We'll take it one step at a time."

Azula nodded and looked back at the water. The sun had fully set, and Yue was plainly visible over the beach, her presence reaching out to Aang. He then watched as his once-bitter enemy unexpectedly stood up, "I'm going to eat," she declared and didn't wait for his answer, walking back to the house. After several moments, she stopped a few feet away and unsurely looked back at him, "Um… and would you like something, Avatar?"

He smiled at her attempt at  _'being good'_  and stood up, "I'll come in with you," he offered, walking past her and he used his earthbending to see if she was following. When he found that she wasn't, he turned around, waving her forward "Are you coming?"

Azula started and looked at him, then smirked, "Definitely, Avatar," she quickly caught up with him and, together, they made their way to the house.

XxXxXxXxXxX

He watched Azula as she ate the Komodo Chicken off her plate. He wasn't the only person who had changed, echoing her own observations from earlier. She was still very much the same person he had remembered her being, but there were differences between then and now, subtle but large at the same time. Well, the main one was that she wasn't trying to kill him and didn't wish him harm, but now, watching as she ate her meal, she also seemed almost… peaceful. He realized that she was being herself, which Aang now realized she hadn't ever really been able to do. She always had to dawn a mask of superiority and aloofness, had to be Princess Azula instead of  _just_  Azula, her true self, the one who she had stuffed down for so long that eventually led to her mind breaking.

He was truly relieved that she had healed from her insanity; it had been heartbreaking to see a beautiful mind succumb to such deterioration.

Aang remembered the first time he had ever seen her, in Omashu during that hostage exchange gone-wrong. Two things had immediately stood out to him: well, the first one had been how beautiful she was, possibly the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, and second, was that he sensed how she hadn't felt peace in a long time, if ever. It had actually been the same with Zuko when he had first met the now-Fire Lord at the South Pole, except Zuko was much angrier than Azula.

After hearing stories of Ozai, and fighting the man during Sozin's Comet, Aang could easily see how she had never been able to have that freedom to simply be herself instead of the weapon that Ozai had molded her into. Now that she was free from her father and since Zuko had secretly released her, Aang was determined to let her experience inner peace.

Azula noticed his staring and raised a brow, "What?"

He shrugged, "Nothing," he didn't want to ruin this peaceful atmosphere.

Her eyes narrowed but she let the matter go. She continued to eat her chicken with gusto. And at the sight, Aang shook his head and sighed inwardly. He knew that many of the old Air Nomad customs and beliefs were going to die with him, but it was depressing to know that he would be the last Air Nomad vegetarian. It seemed more apparent now than ever, having his first meal with another human in years, especially since he had never encountered another vegetarian in the years since his awakening. Well, except for Pathik, but he didn't count.

Aang stared at the green leaves adorning his plate and grimaced, not feeling the urge to eat any longer. Azula noticed, as she seemed to notice everything, and put down her plate of chicken, "Not hungry?" She quipped.

Aang shook his head, "Not really," he wasn't willing to give anything more than that and Azula seemed fine with his lack of a detailed response.

Once she was finished, Azula stood up and looked at him. "Well, since it's late and I finished my meal, I'm going to succumb to my yearn for rest. So, um …good night," she said awkwardly and made her way out of the room.

"Good night, Princess Azula," Aang watched her leave, making certain that she was being honest and felt her enter a room with his earthbending. Since he didn't want to eat, and couldn't think of anything else to do, he decided to talk with Roku.

After snuffing out the burning candles, he went out to the beach again and sat in the Lotus Position, briefly waving at Yue. Once he closed his eyes and inhaled slowly and deeply, Roku appeared within seconds, summoned from the fathomless depths of his soul.

" _Aang,"_ his predecessor nodded his head.

Aang did the same, "I found this airbending scroll in the Southern Air Temple's Library, and it details how an Airbender can achieve true flight without the use of a glider." He pulled the scroll out of his sack and held it up to Roku.

Roku looked skeptical, but when Aang shook it in his head for emphasis, his predecessor's hands became tangible and he reached out, taking a hold of the scroll. The more that Roku read, Aang noticed, the more that his past life's surprise was evident.  _"Gyatso had always spoken of legends with such an ability, but I had never believed him, and frankly, I'm not even sure that he himself ever believed them."_ Roku handed the scroll back and looked thoughtfully out over the moonlit water as his hands became ethereal once more.

Aang knew that he shouldn't feel surprised that Gyatso had known stories about this ability, but he honestly was, nonetheless. He had no idea how his master had always seemed to know everything, in spite of his relatively young age.

" _You have spoken with Yangchen."_ It wasn't a question, but a statement of a fact.

He nodded. "Yes, and she didn't say much except that I should delve deeper into the Avatar Cycle." He looked to where Roku was staring, "She also never believed the legends," he said softly.

Roku turned back towards him, eyes curious,  _"Why come to me, then, Aang?"_ He questioned _, "You knew that I would be of no help, yet you summoned me anyway. Why?"_

Aang closed his eyes. "I'm not really… comfortable communicating with the other Avatars." He admitted shyly, feeling shame that he couldn't even, in essence, talk to himself.

Roku laughed, the sound echoing across the beach,  _"Oh, Aang, I used to feel like that. Don't worry, my friend, I only ever communicated with Avatar Kyoshi a few times during my reign. I summoned Avatar Kuruk once and never did so again because he… was hard to communicate with, to put it nicely."_  His past life quieted, eyes serious.  _"But, in spite of that, you cannot let this baseless fear hold you back from deciphering this puzzle. I have a feeling that it will become much simpler than what you think once you begin to unlock the ability."_ Roku gazed at him for several moments, " _What is truly bothering you, Aang?"_

He sighed, wondering how he could have possibly believed that he could hide things from Roku. "When I was in Ba Sing Se and I went into the Avatar State, I was floating, no bubble of air. I was weightless."

" _Then that means that one or more of our predecessors had mastered this ability."_  Roku summoned.

"Yes, I know, but I'm wondering how far back I have to go." Aang gestured to himself in wonder, "Can I even summon past Avatars from thousands of years ago?"

Roku chuckled.  _"You can go as far back as you want or need to, my friend. It takes a lot of spiritual concentration, which you have in abundance, more so than any other Avatar, I believe, but it's relatively simple."_

"How far back did you ever go?" Aang questioned curiously. "You mentioned that you had summoned Kuruk, but did you go back further? What about Yangchen?"

 _"Yes, I did communicate with Avatar Yangchen, but to answer your first question, I only went back to Avatar Jinzhai, the Fire Avatar before myself."_ Roku smiled at him, hints of self-loathing evident.  _"I never really cared much for the spiritual side of our power during my reign, quite like Avatar Kuruk in that regard, I hate to say. It wasn't until I was much older when I truly invested my time in that part of our duty. Who knows? Maybe if I had been spiritual like you, Aang, I would have known what was to come, and could have had the wisdom to stop Fire Lord Sozin and the Great War before it even began by any means necessary."_

Aang was quiet for several moments, digesting his predecessor's words. "How far back do you think that I should go?"

" _Well, I would probably say a thousand years but that was when Yangchen was Avatar."_  Roku frowned, eyes closing in rumination.  _"Avatar Jinzhai wouldn't know, so I would say that you must try going back around fifteen hundred years, give or take a few decades if you truly wish to solve this puzzle that the winds of fate have given you."_

Aang nodded, "Thank you, Roku,"

His past life nodded,  _"I, and any of the other Avatars, will always answer any questions that you may have and give advice to the best of our ability. All you must do is simply ask, my friend. Farewell, Avatar Aang,"_ Roku smiled and then faded into Aang's body.

He stared up at Yue, smiling up at her as she waved down at him, features pulled into a beautiful, bright smile. "What do you think, Moon Spirit?" He called out, "Do you know anything?"

" _Avatar Aang, I am displeased not to be of any help to you; I don't know."_ She floated towards him, white hair incandescent.  _"Only those who actually mastered this ability you speak of would know the knowledge that you seek."_

He nodded, "All right, thank you, Yue." He then headed back to the house, deciding that he would summon an Avatar from before Jinzhai tomorrow. He wanted to decipher this mystery sooner than later.

He saw his meal still on the table and quickly consumed it, finding that he was hungry now. After only minutes, he ate the last of the lettuce and went into the room that he used during the Great War. He wondered briefly if the room that Azula resided in had belonged to her from when she was a child but dismissed the thought.

With a wave of his hand, all the candles in the room came to life, casting a warm and comforting glow across the room and Aang knew that he was going to fall asleep quickly, finding the fact that Azula slept in the same house as he did not-worrying. He climbed into the bed and closed his eyes.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Aang awoke to a piercing scream, his eyes snapping open in alarm. He bolted out of the bed, instincts flaring, searching for potential threats, ready to blast anyone out of the room with all of the elements. After a second, he noticed that no one was in his room. He then heard the scream again and he realized that Azula was in the house, too, so it must have been from her. He quickly followed the sound and to his surprise, it led him to the room Katara had used during the Great War before Sozin's Comet. Aang was certain that there was some sort of irony in that fact, but he didn't think too hard about it. He had more important things to worry about.

He heard the scream again and he yanked the door open, a flame held in his hand. His gray eyes effortlessly adjusted, and he saw that Azula was thrashing on the bed, writhing and cringing as she muttered unintelligibly, sweat spilling down her lovely features. His eyes widened when he realized that this wasn't a ploy so that he would let his guard down for her to have a chance to attack him, and he rushed over. "Princess Azula!" He shook her multiple times, but to no effect. "Wake up!" He cried out, but she didn't respond and Aang saw only one option - he blasted her with frigid air.

She suddenly gasped, lips parted in a soundless scream as her eyes snapped open, and just by the almost feral gleam in her eye, he knew that he needed to move. It was only Aang's airbending reflexes that had saved him from the blasts of blue fire headed straight for his face. "Princess Azula," he cautiously looked over at her when she finally seemed coherent.

She was panting and staring at him with wide eyes, and she quickly tried to pull herself together; she was not successful. "Thank you, Avatar," she said with a waving hand, dismissing him.

Aang frowned, "You're welcome," he paused and observed her pale face, "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked gently.

She whirled towards him, eyes glowing. "No!" Azula snarled, glaring at him with the force of her great-grandfather's comet, "I'm not some damsel-in-distress for you to come to save and comfort and then fuck, Avatar!"

Aang put his hands up in an attempt to showcase that wasn't his intention at all. "I never thought that, okay? If I gave you that impression, I'm truly sorry, and I can see now that my words from earlier about your beauty must have contributed to your conclusion. Also, I wasn't trying to make you feel weak. If I did, I'm sorry. I fiercely apologize, if that is true." When she didn't say anything, Aang stared at her seriously, "Sometimes, you know, it helps to talk about your dreams."

Azula's glare had lessened but her disdain about the idea was evident, "That would never help. That's a ridiculous notion," she waved her hand in disgust.

Aang paused and stared out the window, "Before the Great War, before I had even known that I was the Avatar, I kept having the same dream every night… for years." He didn't glance at Azula, but he instinctively knew that he had her full attention, so he continued. "It was of the comet, of what would be called 'Sozin's Comet'. I didn't know what it was then but now, I  _know_  that it was Sozin's Comet; I'd wager every drop of gold in the entire world that it was your great-grandfather's comet." He swallowed as he closed his eyes, the memories of his younger self waking up in terror almost every night at the forefront of his mind. "And it would always be the same, the dream. I would be in the courtyard, surrounded by my fellow Airbenders in an intense game of air-ball. Then, the comet appeared out of nowhere, bathing the sky in a deep red, and everyone else besides me backed away in fear." He shuddered out a breath, staring up into the sky, envisioning Sozin's Comet blazing through the heavens. "You see, I was drawn to the comet, I guess that it was the Firebender in me, and walked towards it, arm stretched out to just touch it." His fists shook and the air in the room began to gain power, beginning to swirl and lash out, but Aang didn't care. His mind was trapped in the memories of that accursed nightmare, and throughout it all, he continued to speak. "But when I got closer, the fire from the comet consumed me, eating me alive, trying to ravage my flesh until nothing except ash remained. Such terrible panic and terror and horror would then blanket my mind, and I would blast the fiery comet with air, but that just made it stronger, made it angrier." Several tears spilled down his cheeks and the air began to calm, "At this moment, every time in my dreams, I would look around and see my fellow Air Nomads, all of them, burning alive, blood-curdling screams erupting from their charred faces, and that is when I would wake up. And it was always the same no matter what I did, every single time." He turned around to look at Azula, "I never told anyone about my dreams, but if I had done so, simply speaking up, I might have been able to save my people."

Azula stared at him for several moments, "I dreamt of Ozai," she admitted, and Aang wasn't surprised by her admission. He had had a feeling that the dream entailed the self-declared Phoenix King. She continued, "It was mostly just memories, but their sinister intent was to terrorize. He had always demanded perfection and I had always striven to deliver, to please that… bastard." Blue flames sparked across her fingertips, "Once mother had disappeared, he became  _much_  worse because with mother no longer around to soothe his temper, he would regularly beat us, me and Zuko. That's how I became such a good liar, actually. You see, I would break the rules and would always blame it on Zuko instead of being honest about it. I was weak, and I was a terrible sister." Azula's fists clenched, "Our screams never deterred him. In fact, they always seemed to amuse him."

The air in the room suddenly became aggressive, more violent than when he had been recounting his dreams, whipping out at anything and anyone. Aang's jaw was clenched and he was so angry he was afraid the Avatar State would make an appearance; he hadn't been  _this_  angry in years. "He got off easy," he hissed out. "If I had known how monstrous he truly was, I may have quarreled less with the idea of killing him during Sozin's Comet."

Azula stared up at his shaking form in disbelief. "You are angry at  _my_  suffering?" She sounded fascinated, eyes wide, and Aang feared that if he spoke, his voice would be amplified by all those who had come before him, so he settled for nodding his head to answer her question. "But it's my pain, not yours. I'm not your family and I tried to kill you several times." Azula was incredulous.

Aang breathed deeply to calm himself, " _No one_  should  _ever_  suffer like that, especially from your own family." He stated quietly, but adamantly.

A tiny smile graced Azula's lips and she suddenly laughed, "No one has ever said that to me before! I had always thought that it was normal to be beaten by your father." His rage brimmed over at her words, and his eyes and tattoos glowed a blinding light for a split second. But before he destroyed all of Ember Island, he called upon the calm of his predecessors to soothe his mind and was rewarded when serenity spread throughout his body, soothing his fury. Azula opened her eyes once the light had faded. "Why did you do that? By the way, what is  _that?_  It was the same thing that you did in Ba Sing Se before I… shot you with lightning." Shame colored her voice.

"So that I wouldn't lose myself in anger and destroy the entire island." He replied, "And to answer your second question,  _that_  was the Avatar State. You don't know what that is?" He tilted his head, baffled by the notion.

Azula shook her head, "No, I don't know what the Avatar State, as you called it, is. Nobody really knows anything about the Avatar's power save the Avatar themselves."

Aang raised an eyebrow in wonder. He had always thought that it was almost common knowledge what the Avatar State was, but he was incredibly thankful that it wasn't. Now, nobody could end the Avatar Cycle prematurely, as the woman in front of him had almost done eight years ago. "Well, The Avatar State is a defense mechanism, designed to empower the Avatar – me – with all of the skills, power, and knowledge from all of the previous Avatars. The  _glow_  is the combination of all my past lives focusing their power and energy through my body. In the Avatar State, I'm at my most powerful."

"That is incredible," she breathed, looking awed and unafraid, something which relieved him more than she would probably ever know. The expressions of fear and dread on the Gaang's faces whenever the Avatar State was mentioned were still vivid in his mind. He was tired of people being afraid of him. "No wonder we were taught in the Academy to  _always_  fear the Avatar; nobody can hold a candle to your power. Now, you are stronger than you were when you were a child in the Great War, and I can't even fathom how powerful you are now." And again, no fear was present on her face, but an overwhelming curiosity and the realization that she couldn't defeat him in a battle.

"I am much stronger than I used to be," he said simply.

Azula nodded and looked at her disgruntled bed, at the sweat-soaked covers. "I don't think that I'll be able to sleep again," she sighed aloud, displeasure carved into her features.

"I could stay in here with you," he impulsively offered.

Her head snapped in his direction, eyes locking with his own, staring at him critically "On the floor?"

Aang smiled, "On the floor," to show that he was being truthful, Aang spread out across the floor.

"Thank you, Avatar," she said softly.

"And thank you, Princess," at her questioning look, he elaborated. "Thank you for listening, it meant a lot." When she still looked bemused, he decided to be honest. "I haven't spoken with another person face-to-face in years, only through messages."

Her eyes widened, but she didn't press him, for which he was thankful. "You're welcome, Avatar, and even though I already said it, I must say it again. Thank you, especially for sharing such dark details of your life. Nobody has ever trusted me with such intimate secrets, and I promise you that I won't betray that trust. And thank you for offering to sleep on the floor, nobody has done that either."

Aang shook his head, "I trust you, and it's not a problem, don't worry. I've slept on worst," he laid on the floor and closed his eyes. Tomorrow, he would heed Roku's advice and speak with one of their past lives, but now, he yearned for sleep and his mind finally complied.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Aang silently lowered himself down on the deck and closed his eyes, searching deep in his soul. He immediately felt Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, and Yangchen. The feel of their soothing presences gave him the strength to go deeper. He then felt another being who was similar to Roku and knew that he had found Avatar Jinzhai. While he was tempted to speak with him, he decided that he could do that at a later time. He searched further, bypassing Jinzhai, and then felt a stubborn presence, recognizing that this newfound presence was the Earth Avatar before Kyoshi. He summoned the presence forward and opened his eyes.

He was met with the sight of a man that looked a lot like General Fong. He had a full beard and seemed to carry himself with a military-like bearing. He was wearing mostly green but had colors of all the nations in his clothing. In fact, a single stripe of the colors from the other nations ran down his chest.

" _Hello, Avatar Aang. I am Avatar Boruk,"_ his voice was a booming baritone.

Aang nodded in greeting, "Hello, Avatar Boruk, it is an honor to meet you. Have you ever heard of the ability true flight for airbending?"

Boruk rubbed his beard, his voice gravelly.  _"Only tales, my friend. When I was training at the Northern Air Temple, a few of the Elders often spoke of an age, a few centuries before my own birth, when such an ability had been used to terrifying effect."_

"What do you mean?"

" _This Airbender was unnamed, his very name erased from any record in Air Nomad history, but I do know that he existed in the time of my predecessor, Avatar Keska. From what I did gather, this unnamed Airbender's philosophy revolved around that without, first, the destruction of the old, new growth cannot ever exist."_

Aang shook his head, "A dark and dangerous philosophy," he commented.

" _Yes, it was, and the philosophy, from what I know, consumed him. It was he, the very first non-Avatar, who discovered true flight, the very secret to weightlessness. As a result, he became untethered to the Earth, existing only in the heavens amongst the Creatures borne of Air."_

"What happened? Why was his name erased from Air Nomad history?"

" _Well, he lived the remainder of his life without ever touching the ground, but because of this, his head was literally 'in the clouds', so to speak. He was delusional. He looked down at the Four Nations like a god, like he was the Avatar herself, and dared to challenge what he shouldn't have. It became too much for him, and when the time came, he swooped down and attacked innocents, murdering them in cold blood, trying to purge the old and bring forth a new, harvest-full growth. Almost immediately, though, Avatar Keska put a stop to it, killing him when he refused to tether himself back to the Earth."_

Aang wondered if he did actually manage to master true flight, would he become crazy. He already knew how fragile his psyche was after the Gaang had pretty much abandoned him and all of the grief over being the last of the Air Nomads. Would he then be remembered as, not the boy who had single-handedly triumphed over the Fire Nation, but as the Mad Balance-Keeper upon his death?

When he saw Boruk staring at him curiously, he sighed, "So, you've never seen this, I take it?" He held up the airbending scroll.

Boruk squinted at the scroll,  _"No. I have never seen that scroll before."_ He shook his head.

" _Well, do you know who might have, or who had even crafted it? From what it sounds like, this unnamed Airbender was unlikely to have created this scroll, detailing the ability. Who else, though, could have? You mentioned that this unnamed Airbender was the first non-Avatar to discover the secret to weightlessness, and since the Avatar State allows me access to true flight, wouldn't it, possibly, be one of your predecessors had fashioned it?" He questioned._

Boruk frowned, opened his mouth, but paused when Azula suddenly shuffled into the room.

She stared at the sight before her, surprise evident on her face before she recovered remarkably quickly. "Hello, there," she smirked. "And who are you?" She looked at Boruk with a raised eyebrow.

Boruk stood up and bowed with the Fire Nation sign of respect,  _"I am Avatar Boruk, young one."_

Azula seemed impressed by his show of respect and knowledge of Fire Nation traditions. She then looked at Aang, "So, you can just talk to any of the past Avatars at any time that you wish to?"

Aang shrugged, "Yeah, pretty much," he looked at Boruk. He was surprised that Azula was able to actually see and communicate with him. He had never summoned his predecessors in front of an audience.

She looked like she wanted to ask more but instead, she turned around and stepped towards the door, "I'm going to go play volleyball. It's been far too long since I've played," she smirked at them. "So, I'll be at the beach. Have fun!"

Once she left, Boruk chuckled,  _"She's interesting."_

Aang ran his hand through his hair, "Yeah, she is," he looked in the direction where Azula last was. "She's had a long, difficult journey, but she's making good progress on taking the right road."

Boruk understood, dark eyes crinkling,  _"Well, I hope that she succeeds, Avatar Aang."_ He nodded towards the scroll,  _"I believe that you might have success if you summoned Avatar Anil. He was the Air Avatar before Yangchen and yourself, Avatar Keska's predecessor. He may have been who unlocked true flight as the Avatar, but I don't know for certain."_ Boruk advised

Aang nodded, "Thank you, Avatar Boruk, for your advice and wisdom."

Boruk smiled,  _"Anytime, Avatar Aang,"_  he then dispersed and rushed back into Aang's body.

Aang contemplated summoning Anil forward, but decided to make sure that Azula wasn't causing havoc at the beach; after all, if he had learned anything, it was that Azula was unpredictable.

He grabbed his headband - the very same one he had worn after Ba Sing Se - and tied it around his head. He didn't feel like announcing he was on Ember Island to everyone.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Aang stared wide-eyed at the outfit Azula was wearing, a very male-stimulating outfit. She might as well have been wearing nothing, and he felt his body begin to respond to the arousing sight, so he subtly swirled the air around himself to calm his raging body, to hopefully make his arousal less obvious.

Once he was suitably calmed, Aang finally looked back at Azula, refusing to acknowledge the feelings rushing through his body, not even knowing why he had them. But he did acknowledge all of the lust-filled stares that she was receiving from every man on the beach. He clenched his jaw and had to seriously curb the urge to blast all the men into the ocean, not wanting to contemplate why he was so upset; he decided to blame it on the fact that she wasn't laying low. She was a war criminal, one of the most dangerous people in the entire world, and right now, she was the center of attention when she shouldn't be.

Aang heard a cry of pain and looked back towards the volleyball match. The ground was smoking from where the ball landed and one of the players was holding their foot in obvious anger, glaring at Azula. He glanced at the Princess and noticed the triumphant gleam in her eyes. He sighed, realizing that despite his words to Boruk earlier, the road to 'being good' was going take a long time to journey.

Since the game was now officially over, Aang quickly walked over to Azula. She saw him approaching and smirked up at him when he had finally arrived. "Hello, Av- Kuzon," she recovered well from her slip of the tongue, surprising him slightly that she still remembered the name that he had used when he had first entered Zuko's house.

Aang quickly pulled her by the arm away, from the crowd. "What was  _that?"_ He demanded.

Azula frowned, "What?"

"The game. That was too intense," he gestured towards the injured player who was still holding their foot. "You're supposed to be a faceless ghost in a crowd, not the star of attention."

"First of all, I toned it down, Kuzon," she gestured with her arm towards the court, "I didn't even set the net on fire this time." She smirked up at him in triumph, "And secondly, this is the first time I've been free in eight years, so I would appreciate it if you didn't expect perfection immediately."

At those words, Aang softened, remembering how Ozai had demanded perfection from his daughter, and Azula had been forced to deliver or she would be beaten. He began to breathe heavily, the very thought of Ozai's parenting methods making him angry. He wasn't angry at her, but more so at the outfit that she was wearing, her father, and all of the lustful stares that were still riveted on her. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm worried, that's all,"

"Apology accepted. Now, come on,  _Kuzon_ , I'm hungry," she bumped him with her elbow and Aang felt his anger lessen almost completely. "I need some Komodo Chicken. Azula gripped his arm and directed him into town.

To fully sooth the anger warring in his mind, Aang quickly gave her his outer robe to wear, "Just wear this, okay?" And Azula smirked at him, seeming to know why he was giving it to her, but she complied without argument, gracefully slipping it on.

They walked through the market and Azula seemed to know where she was going, weaving past carts elegantly, side-stepping approaching crowds like she was an actual Airbender until they both arrived at a small stall.

Azula walked to the keeper. "One basket of Komodo Chicken," she ordered and then looked back at him, the expression on her face making him wish that she had been released from her prison years ago. "They have the best Komodo Chicken on the island at this place." She said with a smile.

"You truly honor me, my lady," the keeper beamed at them. "And would your husband like something?" He looked towards Aang.

His breathing abruptly stalled at the man's assumption and Azula must have seen his reaction for she fully turned toward him, a wicked gleam in her golden eyes. "I don't know," she reached out and placed a hand on his arm. "Husband, would you like some Komodo Chicken?"

Aang quickly recovered as best he could and shook his head, "I ate earlier. Maybe next time," he lied.

The keeper nodded in consent. "I guarantee that when you do try the Komodo Chicken, you will not regret it. Your basket will be ready shortly, my lady."

Azula raised a brow after the keeper had disappeared from sight, "'Maybe next time'?" She seemed amused.

Aang felt the need to defend himself, "Well, I've never met another vegetarian this century and I don't want to be recognized, so I felt that it would be safer and easier if I lied." He shrugged.

She smirked, "You're pretty talented at it,  _Kuzon_ ," she teased. "And I must say, husband, that you recovered remarkably well."

Aang shuffled self-consciously, refraining from rolling his eyes, aware that her own eyes were staring at him. "Well, I try not to lie often, but sometimes it's unavoidable. And I've heard it from a friend that I'm a pretty good liar, able to think extraordinarily quickly on my feet." He said almost sadly.

She must have seen the regret shining in his eyes because she stopped her teasing. "The Earthbender girl? The blind one?" She asked as they then sat down at a table. "The one who you and the peasant were with when you all confronted me during the Day of Black Sun?"

He gratefully accepted the offered distraction, "Yes, the one who you spoke to when you declared that you were a four-hundred-foot tall purple Platypus Bear with pink horns and silver wings."

Azula's lips twitched a brief laugh escaped her, "Oh, yes, she was funny, someone who wasn't afraid to threaten me."

The keeper abruptly appeared before them, interrupting. "And here is your Komodo Chicken, my lady," the man placed the chicken in front of Azula, bowed, and then left.

Azula swiftly dug into the chicken enthusiastically, moaning in pleasure as flavor must have exploded on her tongue. Aang's eyes widened at her moan, and he scratched his face trying to be subtle in his staring but wasn't sure that he succeeded. She looked up at him and noticed his strange behavior. Her eyes narrowed and then enlightenment danced in her golden orbs. "It's the meat, isn't it? I forgot that you were a vegetarian. That's what last night was about, wasn't it?"

Aang felt relieved; he could excuse his behavior from the previous night, too. He took the out that was unintentionally offered, "I'm sorry, it's just that I haven't been around people eating meat in a long time." He smiled at her, "You should see Sokka when he eats meat." His face pinched in disgust, "It takes some getting used to, I will admit."

Azula looked torn on whether to continue eating her meal, but Aang would have none of that. "Continue, continue, please. Eat your chicken, Princess Azula, I don't mind." He gestured to her plate and she smiled gratefully at him.

He was slightly ashamed to admit it, but she had a beautiful smile, not sure why he was ashamed to admit it. She was always smirking at him and while that was a nice sight, it was  _nothing_  compared to her true smile, a smile more appealing than anyone else's.

"So, was this 'Sokka' one of the peasants?" She questioned in between bites of her meal.

He closed his eyes, knowing that some things would never change. "He was the non-bender from the Water Tribe." He stressed, wishing that she would cease to call people, whoever they were, peasants. "He is the son of Hakoda, their Chief."

Azula raised a brow, "Okay, and wouldn't that make him a Prince, then?"

Aang was stumped by her question because he had honestly never thought of that. Before the Great War, when he had still been a child at the Southern Temple, he had traveled to the Fire Nation and Omashu, but those were the only places. The first time that he had ever been to one of the Poles was when Katara had found him in his Iceberg. And since he had never asked Sokka or Katara, he had no idea what the customs were for the Water Tribes, specifically, if the South used 'Prince' and 'Princess' like the North did.

She noted his blank expression, "So, the Northern Water Tribe uses traditional titles while the Southern does not." She surmised, taking another bite of her chicken.

He was slightly surprised at her knowledge of the Water Tribe traditions but knew that he shouldn't be, he needed to cease to feel surprised by how smart and intelligent she was. "Yes, it seems that way, apparently," he thought of Yue and sighed, "The Northern Water Tribe's Princess sacrificed her life to save the Moon Spirit." He looked up at the bright sky where he knew Yue was, even though she wasn't visible.

Azula observed his somber mood. "The day when the moon vanished from the sky," she concluded.

Aang looked back at Azula, "Her name is Yue," he smiled sadly. "I could have saved her, you know? It was my fault when she died because I didn't take my waterbending training seriously under Pakku. I could have snuffed out the threat before it had even begun, but because of my naivety and immaturity, I didn't." He whispered in self-loathing, thinking of all of the people who had perished because of his inaction and mistakes.

"Well, she was very brave, Kuzon. It takes a true and noble Princess, a fierce warrior, to stare death in the face and not flinch." Azula complimented.

He smiled genuinely, thankful for her praise of a person who he had failed to save. "She was very brave, one of the bravest who I've encountered since my awakening."

She then took another bit of chicken, almost finished with her meal. "So, since this Princess Yue was the heir to the Northern Water Tribe and she is  _gone_ , does that mean your friend, Sokka will control all of the Water Tribes?" She questioned.

Aang's eyebrows rose in realization, "Yeah, I guess that you're right," he nodded his head. "I do know that Sokka was named the heir of the Northern Water Tribe after the Great War, the next-in-line to become their Chief, but I don't know if he will still become Chief of the South, thus controlling the entire Water Tribes. That's an excellent question, Azula, I'll need to ask Sokka when I see him next, if I ever do." He finished darkly, still bitter about his friend's abandonment, about the entire Gaang's save Zuko.

"What?" She asked in bemusement, leaning forward. "Was there… a falling out between your crew of misfits?" She looked incredibly interested in his answer and Aang felt uncomfortable. He noticed that she had finally finished her Komodo Chicken, so he left a few coins on the table and stood up.

"I'm not sure yet," he murmured, silently begging her not to press the issue.

She did seem to drop it, for she looked at the coins and then up at him, standing to her feet. "You're paying for my meal, and since the keeper concluded that we are married, are we then on a date?" Her golden eyes gleamed under Agni's light with mirth.

Aang laughed, grateful that she hadn't compelled him to speak about the Gaang. "Come on, Princess, let's go," they walked back to the beach and found a secluded part, making themselves comfortable on the sand, reclining back as they watched the newest game of volleyball that was being played.

"You were very good," he said eventually, still watching the game.

"Oh, do you think so?" She questioned lightly, "I think that I might have lost a few steps. It was fun, though, and as my uncle always used to say, isn't that what counts? I do wish, though, that I had set the net on fire again." She sighed in regret and Aang shook his head in amusement. "You know that you would be  _very_  good at it, don't you?" She was staring at him.

Aang finally looked at her. "What makes you say that?" He questioned, incredulous at where she had concluded such a belief.

"Well, you are an Airbender, so that means that you possess impossible, uncanny agility and reflexes. Secondly," she quickly looked around, "you are the Avatar. I'm sure that you've played volleyball in a past life, so all that you have to do is just use the Avatar State and then you would be good to go." She looked triumphantly at him.

Aang suddenly envisioned a mirage of Kyoshi and Roku playing volleyball, and laughed heartily, "I think that that would be a big exploitation of my power, Princess."

She shrugged, "Well, maybe you don't have to use the Avatar State. You would still be incredible at the game, though. Remember what I said about airbending?"

He slowly turned his body towards her, gauging how serious she was being. He didn't feel surprised when he discovered that she was completely serious.

Aang suddenly jumped to his feet in a blurred motion and held out his hand to her. "Well, come on then, Princess. Let's show Ember Island how to really play volleyball." He grinned.

Azula blinked and took his hand with a smirk, "Let's do it,"

XxXxXxXxXxX

Aang hadn't had this much fun in years. It was just he and Azula on one side against four opponents who didn't stand a chance, in all honesty. It was unfair, actually. The game was over within minutes and if Aang had used airbending to make the ball go faster, no one had had to know. They had played several games and won by a large margin each and every time.

The sun was beginning to set, so they decided to call it quits, the relieved looks on the opponents' faces easy to see as they announced that they were finished. Together, they walked back to the house and Aang contemplated the past several days. He hadn't expected this situation when he first decided to visit Ember Island, not at all, but, shockingly, he was content with how things had turned out.

Once they stumbled inside, Azula turned to look at him, "I can't remember the last time when I had so much… fun, so I truly thank you, Avatar."

He shook his head, "It's Aang, okay?" At his words, Azula looked confused so he clarified. "It wasn't the Avatar who you had fun with today. That was all Aang, it was just… me." He smiled slightly. "The Avatar is my title, my position, just like yours is Princess."

Azula nodded in understanding, "Okay, so, thank you… Aang." The sounded foreign on her tongue but Aang liked the sound of it. "I agree on one condition, though."

"And what's that?"

"You cease to refer to me by my title, understand?" Her eyes were serious, "I want you to just call me Azula, please."

He smiled and nodded his head, "Very well, Azula,"

When they had finally begun to eat dinner, Azula abruptly asked him the question that he had been dreading, surprised that it had taken her so long, honestly. "What happened to your group?"

Aang sipped his drink and contemplated how to answer. "We grew up, I guess. After the Great War, I stayed in the Fire Nation for over year to help your brother fortify his ascension, and Toph, to my knowledge, after leaving the Caldera, had stayed with her parents for several-

"The Earthbender?"

He nodded, "Yes, the Earthbender. Anyway, she stayed for a few weeks with me in the Caldera, helping your brother, but then she left to go back to her home. She had wanted to try and reconcile with her parents. Katara and Sokka had left almost immediately to go back to the Southern Water Tribe. I'm guessing that they missed their home and their family. Sokka will be the next Chief of the Tribe, maybe even of both the Tribes, and Katara also went to go help with the rebuilding process. And then where Sokka goes, Suki follows," he concluded.

Azula stared at him, tilting her head to the side, "You're angry with them," she observed.

Aang stared at her flabbergasted, "No, I'm not,"

"Yes, you are. I can see it in your eyes and the bitter tone you just used when describing what had happened more than speaks for itself."

He chuckled in disbelief and shook his head adamantly, "That's not true, Azula. They're my friends," he said almost darkly, knowing that she was right, but not wanting to open the door to all of his stuffed feelings and emotions.

"Just because you are friends with someone doesn't mean that you cannot feel angry and betrayed by them."

Aang stood up and glared at her, "I do not feel betrayed by them." He snapped quietly, on the brink of an eruption, gray eyes daring and begging.

"Yes, you do," she said simply, looking unimpressed by his scowl. "It's quite plain to see and easy to understand. After you had learned of the genocide of the Air Nation, your group had become your new family, they were the rock that kept you from descending deep into your unimaginable grief." Her golden eyes were sympathetic, understanding, and it made him even angrier.

"You don't know that, you don't." He shook his head, "You're wrong, Azula,"

She didn't react, only continuing to stare up at him, "Often, the biggest and easiest lies we ever tell are the ones we whisper to ourselves. You told me earlier that you hadn't spoken with another human face-to-face in years, except, I'm assuming, for your past lives. You mentioned messages and I already know that my brother is one of those select few people who have the honor of writing the Avatar, but the rest of your group haven't written, have they? Otherwise, you wouldn't be so furious with them." She leaned forward, golden eyes alight with the truth. "You've been also telling yourself that you aren't angry with them, that they're your friends, and that they would never abandon you, right? But the more time that passes, the less control you possess over the fact that your friends left you like marketplace trash."

Aang stared at her with wide eyes, blood drained from his features. Azula had just effortlessly torn through all of the lies that he had told himself over the years so that he wouldn't feel angry with his friends. His fists clenched tightly, so tightly that he was concerned that his knuckles would burst through his skin, and he dimly noticed that the water in their cups began to swirl violently, the house began to shake, the candles explode into massive and roaring infernos of flames, and that the air around them began to howl around the room. He was too busy scowling down at Azula. "So,  _what do you care?_  Yes, I'm incensed with them. They abandoned me! I needed them, and what did they do? They left! I've barely been keeping it together since the  _Great War ended!"_  He was breathing heavily and felt exhausted all of the sudden.

Azula had a soft expression on her face. "I know what you mean, how you feel," her words were barely audible, but he easily heard them.

Aang's head snapped towards her in disbelief and rage, "No, you don't! You know nothing, Azula. I lost my race, home, people, family, friends and then I lost my new family once the Great War, the war which stole my first family away from me, had ended." His eyes and tattoos glowed a blinding light as his rage exploded, Ember Island itself shaking, his wrath was so fierce.  **"I've lost everything!"** Once the booming words escaped his lips in a rush of deafening thunder, the Avatar State left, and the only feeling in his heart was a sense of loss.

Azula tilted her head to the side, recovering remarkably quick for someone who had just stared face-to-face with the fury of the Avatar State. "Maybe I don't know on the same level, Aang, but I do know how you feel, to feel betrayed." She held up her hand to cut him off from speaking, "Mai and Ty Lee chose Zuko over me," she said quietly and Aang paused, realization flooding his mind. Zuko had told them all at the Western Air Temple about what had happened at the Boiling Rock, how Mai and Ty Lee had betrayed Azula, opting instead to buy Sokka, Zuko, Suki, Hakoda, and Chit Sang time to escape. He had never thought much about how that could have affected Azula, but now he realized the significance of the event. His anger at her dissipated and he quickly sat down next to her solemn form. She was staring at her meal with unseeing eyes, "That's what pushed me over the edge, you know? It was the beginning of the end for me. First, mother left, Zuko was banished, and then I was stuck with Ozai for years by myself." Her hands clenched, "Then, Zuko returned home by my own doing, but then he left again but of his own free will that time, choosing to shun the gift that I had worked so hard to give him: his honor back. Then,  _Mai and Ty Lee_  chose Zuko over me at the Boiling Rock." Azula looked into his eyes, "While it is nowhere near the same level of betrayal and loss that you have suffered, I understand better than anyone ever will what it is that you are feeling."

He softened and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for sharing, and I'm sorry that I took my anger out on you." He said sincerely and guiltily, and without thinking it through, he hugged her. She stiffened and Aang was afraid that he had made a terrible and unforgivable mistake but was instead met with Azula hugging him back, gently wrapping her arms around him, head resting against his shoulder. They stayed there for several minutes basking in the feel of someone who simply understood their deep pain and sorrow.

"Would you like to spar?" Aang questioned abruptly.

Azula breathed against his neck and shivers ran down his spine. "That would be desirable. I haven't faced a worthy opponent in years. I'm probably a little unpracticed if I'm being honest." She removed herself from his arms and they walked out into the courtyard where Aang took off his headband. He leaped over to one side and got into a firebending stance. He looked up and saw that Azula was using his headband to tie her hair back.

He shook his head in amusement. "So, am I using all of the elements or just fire, Azula?" He called out, curious to hear her answer.

Azula smirked across at him, "Whatever you desire, Avatar," then, without warning, she punched a wave of sapphire flames at him and Aang retaliated with his own wave of flames.

XxXxXxXxXxX

It had been far too long since he had sparred with somebody and the evidence was more than apparent. Aang was sweating heavily and Azula was doing little better. Both of them had become exhausted from their spar and, together, had decided that a cup of tea would be nice after such an intense and grueling workout.

"I went easy on you," he quipped. "I only used fire, you know?"

Azula raised a brow at him over her cup, "And how did that work out for you, Avatar?" She questioned innocently, taking a sip of her tea.

Aang looked down at his seared clothes and sighed, "Not too well, Azula,"

They drank their tea in silence for a few moments when Azula asked, "Perchance, do you know whatever happened to Mai and Ty Lee?" She had tried to infuse an air of indifference in her tone, but she failed, especially since Aang could see the burning need to know in her golden eyes.

"Last I heard, Azula, was that they were in the Colonies in the Earth Kingdom after escaping from punishment," he said regrettably, wishing that he could tell her more, but at the same time, he was glad that he didn't know anything more to their whereabouts or health. If he did, Azula might sneak off Ember Island, track them down, and kill them.

Azula's face pinched in displeasure as she sipped from her cup of tea and looked at the Agni's fading light. "You know, a small part of me actually misses them," the disbelief in her tone was evident and understandable. "Even after they had blatantly betrayed me, I… miss them," she said softly.

Aang smiled gently, "And that's okay, it truly is. I feel that way about my friends, too. While my anger is not like yours, I'd still like to smack them around a little bit." He grinned mischievously, "Maybe flash the Avatar State at them, or something."

She laughed, "That would be quite the sight," she quieted and stared into his eyes, "but a much bigger part of me wants to shoot them with lightning." She said sharply as if she was testing him.

He shrugged, realizing that she was, indeed, testing him, but he was going to be honest regardless. "And that's okay, as well. No one is perfect, Azula, not even me, the almighty Avatar. After all, I've felt the urge to…" he paused and clenched his jaw. He was about to admit his darkest secret to the woman who had hunted him across the world, but the realization didn't scare him; he realized that it would be all right. "I've felt the urge to kill, Azula."

She was staring at him with no disgust or judgment. Rather, she seemed almost sympathetic, even curious. "Truly? But you didn't kill my father."

"And do you know how much a part of me wanted to? And if I hadn't summoned the Lion Turtle forward, learning how to take his bending away, I would have killed him, Azula, I really would have. I already have blood on my hands, so much blood, they're blood-drenched."

She leaned forward, "When have you killed?"

He raised an eyebrow and wondered briefly if she was still testing him, trying to determine if he would be honest with her, "When I reached the Northern Air Temple during the Great War, the Fire Nation was in contact with the man in charge, the Mechanist."

"Ahh, I know of whom you speak," she waved her hands and sparks flashed. "He made weapons for my father; it was my grandfather's plan but my father is who administered it."

"Yes, and I am who broke the arrangement between the Mechanist and the Fire Nation."

"I remember that. It was said that a huge battle broke out, and although the Fire Nation lost that day, we secured the War Balloons."

"I killed so many that day," he whispered. "I didn't even really realize what I was doing; it was so easy."

"Killing is easy," Azula smiled but there was no mirth in it; her golden eyes were hazed. "Men kill each other over many things: treasure, power, fear, women, revenge, love, among countless other reasons. What no one knows is how easy it is; it's almost beautiful in its simplicity."

"I don't know how many who I killed that day." Aang stared at his hands, "I killed to protect the Northern Air Temple, a remnant remaining of my people and home, and to protect the people at the Temple. Tens of thousands of people have died directly by hands. I decimated the Fire Navy at the Northern Water Tribe, killing who knows how many men and women. And the destruction of an entire Earth Kingdom base is on my head because my rage was so great. I was in the Avatar State both times and I had no control, but at the same time, I knew  _exactly_  what I was doing and how many people were dying; I knew that I was killing people and I hadn't  _cared_." He now saw the truth in Roku's words and he echoed them, "I am capable of unimaginable rage and every time that I've become furious, people die. When gods fight or become angry, it is the mortals who die, never the gods."

He closed his eyes, inhaling slowly. It was an irrefutable truth that he had been denying for far too long, refusing to admit to. He did have blood on his hands, so much blood because of his direct actions, probably more than Fire Lord Ozai's. The falsehoods that he had told himself were only a temporary solution to his problem, not a permanent one like he had forced himself to believe. It was time for him to finally admit the truth, and there was nothing that he could truly do about the amount of blood on his hands. The past was in the past, and it needed to stay there. He exhaled deeply and… let his guilt go, feeling freer than he had in years – and lighter, too.

Azula was staring at him in awe, "What did you do? How did you do that?" She breathed.

Aang raised his brow for he hadn't aware that she would know what he was doing, that she would realize that he was, in essence, forgiving himself for all of the blood soaking his hands. "I let go of my guilt," he said simply. "I was in the middle of the Great War, at the climax, and if I hadn't done those terrible deeds, the world would be on the brink of collapse and I would have failed in my duty as the Avatar."

Azula still stared and looked like she was about to ask something, but she then changed her mind. "Well, it's late and I'm exhausted from our spar, so good night, Avatar." She stood up and winced, apology carved into her face. "Good night,  _Aang_ ," she corrected, nodding her head.

He smiled and then chuckled, "Good night, Azula," he nodded his head back at her, watching as she left the room. They were making good progress and she was on her way to redeeming herself of her past sins.

XxXxXxXxXxX

 **They are making progress! This was fun to write. I hope you all enjoyed it!**   **Leave a review and tell me what you think!**

****Aang and Azula are slowly getting used to each other, and it helps that they both deal with similar tragedies in their lives. If you believe either character seems to be out of character, then I disagree. Both are simply progressing along the natural character growth – or, in Azula's case, withering – that they had in Canon. Both of them are now adults and both have dealt with a lot since the Great War ended. They are both now helping each other heal from the scars that they've suffered, and it truly helps that they seem to understand each other more than anyone else.**

**And you'll find out what happened to the Gaang soon, don't worry. There's a reason why Aang is furious with them.**

**Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed it. If you leave a review, I'd really appreciate it.**

**_Stay safe_ **   
**ButtonPusher**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender**

XxXxXxXxXxX

Bursting through his privy chamber, his mother's face was pale, blood drained from her features so much so that she resembled that of a corpse. Her eyes were bulging from their sockets, breaths quick and urgent, and her face was a mass of shrilled terror. While he was incredibly concerned about what had caused such a reaction in her, he was still surprised that she had even approached him, nonetheless appearing in his own privy chamber, for his mother hadn't spoken to him at all in the weeks since he had notified her of how he had let Azula escape from her room. Just as he had known that she would be, she had been furious, livid, cursing him bitterly as he had, in her words, 'taken her daughter away from her'.

When she didn't say anything about what had caused such a reaction, he had a terrible feeling and knew that something was wrong, potentially catastrophic. "What happened? What is it? Is it Ember Island? Did Azula… attack anyone?" He demanded, thinking the worst. If his sister had, indeed, attacked someone, there would be no way that he could protect her again; he would be forced to hand her over to the Earth Kingdom, having no other choice.

His mother wet her lips and he noticed that she was on the verge of tears, cementing Zuko's belief that Azula had wasted the chance for a new life that he had worked so hard to give her. "No, darling, no," she whispered. "There have been no reports from Ember Island except that one night, a few weeks ago, the entire island had trembled and shuddered for several seconds. The locals had thought that the volcano had finally awakened after its centuries sleep, but I think not. And it wasn't Azula for no human could possess such power as to quaver Ember Island, the second largest island in the Fire Nation behind the main one."

"Then why do you look like you were just haunted by Azulon's ghost?" He demanded, wanting to know who had her so spooked so that he could order that person's execution. People in the past have been executed for less.

His mother's eyes closed, and she collapsed in the chair next to her, Zuko leaping to his feet at the horrible sight. His mother, though, was still conscious, "Your father escaped from his prison, my beautiful boy," she breathed out, hands shaking by her sides.

Zuko blinked because, surely, he had misheard his mother. He had implemented every measure possible to ensure his father's security, guaranteeing that none of the guards held any loyalty to their former Fire Lord. And all of the guards were routinely changed, making sure that his father couldn't begin to manipulate them into freeing him. He hadn't taken any chances where it concerned Ozai's prison, so how could his father have escaped? Ozai could not even bend anymore. Aang had assured him!

Help.

His father had had help, and it was the only possibility. His anger was mounting, and his fists clenched, smoke beginning to drift through the slits, the thought of one of his citizens betraying him for his father spreading a sickening fury in his heart. He stood up and walked quickly to his mother. "I'll take care of it, I promise,"

She gripped his arms desperately and it was the first time in his memory that he had ever seen her frightened. "How could this have happened?"

Zuko pulled her to her feet and into a fierce hug. "That's what I'm going to try and decipher." He tried to smile down at her, but he felt that it was more of a grimace based on his mother's expression, "I want you to be in your rooms alone. No onegoes in or out except you, do you understand?"

Ursa nodded, "Just please be careful," her eyes were on the verge of hysteria.

Zuko nodded back, "I will be," he assured. "I'm going to assure that no harm befalls me, you, uncle, or Azula, all right? By the time I get my hands on him, he will begin to wish that the Avatar had killed him."

XxXxXxXxXxX

Ozai's cell showed no signs of tampering, none at all, looking completely normal. All of the bars were perfectly spaced, allowing no one to slip through, least of all a grown man. He gripped the steel bars and pulled with all his strength, slightly surprised that it wouldn't budge at all.

Nothing.

Zuko pursed his lips, "Guards!" He called out, whirling around in a wave of fury as the five guards stumbled into the room and kneeled before him. He glared down at them, judging their actions, "You will all tell me exactly what happened, and your stories better correlate with each other's, or your heads will be cleaved from your shoulders, do you understand me?" None of the guards spoke up for a few moments, terrified faces glancing at one another, making them look guilty, implicating them in his father's escape. Zuko grit his teeth and stomped past them, judgment already cemented - they were guilty. "I pray for your sakes that Agni is more merciful than I am. Tomorrow, your deaths will take place," he growled out.

The bravest guard then finally spoke, "No, my liege, please! None of us helped the prisoner escape from his cell, for we were there when it happened!"

He paused and slowly turned around, "What do you mean? Tell me!"

"Everything was normal, my liege. There was no suspicious activity. After Agni had begun to fade, that is when we heard the prisoner begin to speak. After several minutes of indecipherable chatter, I unlocked the door to make sure there was no one else in the room, and just as I had suspected, the room was empty except for the prisoner." The guard finally looked up and the fear etched into his features revealed to Zuko that none of the guards had helped his father escape. "Fire Lord Zuko, the prisoner's eyes were glazed over, and he was speaking lowly."

"What was he saying?"

The guard swallowed, "The prisoner kept saying, 'Light is now falling, and Darkness will rise to vanquish it. The Avatar will feel death intimately, and by my hands, that boy will cease to exist forever, no more Avatar Cycle.'" Zuko's eyes widened and dread curdled in his stomach, "My liege, he kept repeating those words over and over, like they were a mantra, like a ticket to the peaceful and tranquil parts of the Gardens of the Dead."

His hands clasped behind his back to force himself to keep his anger at bay, "And what did you do after hearing those words?"

I quickly shut the door," the guard then gestured to the rest of his silent companions. "We had all thought that the prisoner had finally lost his marbles." The guard trailed off, body shaking in fear.

Zuko frowned, "Very well, but what happened after you returned to your position? How did my father escape?"

A different guard spoke when the other was too stricken by fear, "Then, all of a sudden, Fire Lord Zuko, stifling darkness descended into the room and cell. It was so terribly cold, my liege, like we were drowning in the waters of the Poles." The guard's hands rubbed together, "And then, the prisoner began to shout in glee, ecstasy echoing throughout the room and into our ears. We couldn't see anything, my liege, and when we tried to firebend, our Fire ceased to burn. The frigid cold and darkness had… blanketed it, swallowing it whole." All of the guards shuddered in unison, "It was the most terrifying and horrifying experience in my life, Fire Lord, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy."

"And what happened after?"

"When the darkness disappeared," he gestured again to his companions, "we all felt our Fire surge back to life, spreading through our bodies in a brilliant warmth."

Zuko hissed when the guard trailed off, "And?"

Another guard spoke, "We fell into firebending stances, my liege, and approached the door." The guard refused to look up, head kept bowed. "It was me who opened the door and looked into the cell, and the prisoner was gone, my liege. I'm sorry that we failed you, Fire Lord Zuko, all of us are!"

"That's it? There's nothing else that you can tell me?"

"We have no idea what happened, my liege. This was a spirit, it had to have been! It was malevolent and strong."

"That's all you can recall? Just that the dark presence was evil and strong?" He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

One of the other guards lifted his head, tears visible in his eyes. "No, my liege, that dark presence wasn't just strong. It was powerful, so terrifyingly powerful. I didn't believe it possible for anyone, man or spirit, to possess such power, but now I know that I was wrong. Can even the Avatar defeat this dark presence, Fire Lord Zuko?" The words were asked with such desperation that Zuko felt trepidation begin to thrive in his mind, like a flame on the edge of his consciousness, growing with each passing second.

Zuko elected not to answer the guard's question and instead, stared down at all of the kneeling guards critically, "Is this true?" He demanded, scrutinizing their forms, looking for any signs of deceit. He wished that Azula was here. No one was versed in the art of deception like she was.

All the guards nodded, "Yes, my liege," they all said in unison.

"Dismissed," he said tiredly, watching as all of the guards scurried out and Zuko rubbed his forehead in displeasure. If what they had said was, indeed, true, then this was a spirit's work. He stared at the cell for several seconds and then turned around, swiftly making his way back to his privy chamber.

As he marched back to his room, he realized that this was entirely beyond his expertise, and there was only one person in the entire world who could possibly solve it. Zuko needed his friend here, he needed the Avatar. Once he arrived back to his privy chamber, he pulled out a scroll and hastily wrote his friend the details of what had happened. Once finished, he stamped the Royal Seal on the parchment and ordered one of the imperial firebending guards to send it off immediately to the Southern Air Temple.

Zuko sighed and laid his head on his desk. Just when things had begun to look up, especially since the Earth Kingdom hadn't declared war when Azula had 'escaped' from her cell, his father somehow truly escaped from his prison. He scrunched his one eyebrow and lifted his head, coming to the conclusion that he needed to message his uncle, and not just because he missed the man terribly. Although they exchanged messages regularly, messages just weren't the same as a real conversation - face-to-face. He had decided to write to his uncle for two reasons: firstly, his uncle's rumored trip to the Spirit World had reached his ears, so Zuko truly hoped that it was true and that his uncle might know more about this dark and powerful presence, and secondly, he wrote him for selfish reasons; Zuko wanted his uncle here in the Fire Nation with him, with his family, and not at the fucking tea shop, the Jasmine Dragon.

He sighed again, knowing that he was truly selfish, but he didn't really care. He was past caring, he truly was. He had been so lonely for so long, and he didn't think it a crime to yearn for a better life. He was tempted to order a concubine be brought to his chambers but narrowly refrained from the urge. Instead, he focused on his anger at his friends. The Gaang hadn't been all together in the same room since the Great War had ended. No letters had ever been written and it hurt so much to think that he had only been a useful tool in their eyes: a firebending teacher for Aang and the heir to the Dragon's Throne so that they wouldn't have to worry about a repeat of the Cousins' War as suitors all across the Fire Nation vied for the Dragon's Throne; he didn't know why so many people envied that he sat on the Dragon's Throne, for it wasn't even that comfortable.

Aang was the only person out of anyone in the Gaang who had kept in touch with him, regularly exchanging messages, but that was it. He hadn't actually seen his friend in years. The only people who he had seen on a constant basis were Azula and his mother, and his mother had been his only constant companion since he had found her. Should he message the Gaang, too? Would they be equipped to deal with a spiritual threat? He thought of Sokka and Toph and quickly thought better of the idea to write the rest of them.

He shook his head, hoping that Aang received his message and would arrive at the Caldera quickly because the sooner that he can solve this problem and put his father back in prison, the sooner when he could have a proper rest.

XxXxXxXxXxX

After so much anxiety, it was a miracle that Zuko had not begun to pull his hair out. It had been several weeks since when he had written Aang, and from what he had discovered after he had already sent the message, the Avatar hadn't been seen by the public in a few months. At first, when he hadn't received a reply, he hadn't been worried. Zuko had known that his friend resided at the Southern Air Temple and once a month, Aang would travel to one of the smaller towns in the Earth Kingdom, flying over on Appa's back to reassure the world that he hadn't disappeared again.

So, when he had received no response after a week, he had figured that Aang was doing his tour in the Earth Kingdom, keeping balance as he was supposed to. Then, a single week had quickly turned into multiple weeks and still, no word had been received from his friend.

He had written letters to each of the Air Temples and no response had been given by his friend. At the Northern Temple, the Mechanic had expressed regret that the Avatar was not there, and that's when he became truly worried. He feared that this 'dark' presence had somehow killed his friend, but when he had questioned the Fire Sages about such an event, they had assured him that when an Avatar died,  _anyone_  who could feel the slightest Spirit World energy would feel his or her passing. That was the only assurance he had that his friend wasn't dead.

But it had been too long, almost two months, and nothing had come of it, and Ozai wasn't found. Zuko's father had disappeared out of the Fire Nation and was most likely hiding somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, but that was only a guess. His only reprieve had been his mother and uncle; a few days after sending his message to his uncle, the man had shown up at the Caldera carrying a box of tea and a bottle of firewhiskey. Zuko had been immensely grateful and also a little guilty. He had taken his uncle away from the Jasmine Dragon, even though it hadn't pained him to do so.

"You should sit down, my son," his mother suddenly said, cutting through his thoughts.

Zuko paced back and forth while his uncle was calmly sipping his tea, his mother sitting next to the Dragon of the West, her brother-in-law; when his uncle had first seen his mother upon his arrival, he had yanked her into a fierce hug, consoling her gently. And that was when Zuko had known that his uncle understood exactly how Fire Lord Azulon died and why Zuko's mother had disappeared.

"Your mother is right, nephew, perhaps it would be best if you wrote your friends, hmm?" His uncle suggested, peering up at him over his cup.

He sighed and begrudgingly sat down across from him, "I don't want to interrupt their lives with my problems, uncle,"

An eyebrow was raised as his uncle shook his head, "I'm sure that if you asked, they would come without hesitation, Zuko. When was the last time you spoke with any of them?"

Wincing inwardly, but outwardly showing no expression, he answered coolly. "Last I heard, uncle, Toph was in Omashu with King Bumi. Katara, Sokka, and Suki are all currently at the South Pole, and as you know, I don't even know where Aang is." He deflected.

His uncle put down his cup of tea, golden eyes intrigued, "You didn't answer my question, nephew,"

Zuko stayed silent for a few moments, wondering if he could subtly deflect again, but he doubted it. At times, he forgot that his uncle was a General, but looking at him now, he remembered. "I haven't spoken with any of them in a few years except Aang," he admitted softly, staring at the grass.

"Zuko, you should not push others away," his uncle chided, looking at his mother for help.

Those words ignited his fierce ire and that's when Zuko lost it. "But everyone always leaves!  _They_ _had_ left just a few days after the Great War ended. It was like, 'Hey, thanks for not betraying us like we all thought you would, Zuko, but now that you helped Aang with firebending, you're no longer useful to us. See ya!' Aang was my only companion for a year, and then he had to leave because the Avatar had been needed elsewhere. Mother left for years and it was me who had to find her because  _your father,_  uncle, had decreed that she could never return home otherwise. Now, Azula is gone and  _you left me in favor of a fucking tea shop!"_  His breaths were ragged, and he yearned to spew out his full rage like a Dragon but seeing how the candles in the room already resembled more of an inferno than a simple flame, he elected not to.

He saw his uncle open his mouth and then close it, speechlessness all that Zuko was given in response as his uncle just stared at him, realization making its way into his face with each passing second.

The realization that his uncle was shocked, or worse, hadn't even known that Zuko was bitter that the Jasmine Dragon was more important to him than he was, was too much and he had to get out of there. He stormed out of the room, ignoring his mother's requests to say, and slammed the door shut. He quickly stomped towards the Arena, servants fleeing at the very sight of his approaching form.

The imperial firebending guards nodded at him respectfully as he arrived at the entrance to the Arena, and when he looked at them, he ordered that they allow no one to enter. With his command spoken, he retreated into the Arena.

He was all alone.

Tearing off his robe and inner garbs, he threw them to the ground, uncaring if anyone somehow snuck past the guards and was able to gaze at the myriad of scars on his back and chest – he was too angry. After dropping his crown on top of his pile of clothes, he began to aggressively and violently shoot fire in every direction, no grace to his movements, only an animalistic intensity that, he dimly noted, would make his father proud.

He didn't know how long he continued his katas but by the time when he had concluded the fiery need to unleash his fury, flames were swelling in the room, the atmosphere becoming a reddish hue. It resembled the Fire Royal Catacombs to a far lesser degree. As his breathing slowly began to ease, Zuko sighed and waved his hand in a broad motion, commanding the fire to extinguish, which it did, and he plopped himself on the floor by his clothes and crown.

He stared at the ground and contemplated his situation, knowing that, by now, he should probably write the Gaang, but he didn't want to do that, not even a little bit. He was angry with them, and he knew that he wasn't the only one who was left with sour emotions concerning their old group. By the time when Aang had left the Fire Nation, it was pretty obvious, at least to Zuko, that his best friend was  _more_  than a little vexed with them - he almost felt bad for the others, almost.

He was also almost certain that his anger at the Gaang was insignificant next to Aang's. And if he felt as angry as he did, he did not want to be  _anywhere_  near the Gaang when Aang finally decided to confront them; it would be explosive and terrifying.

Zuko still didn't want to contact them, but what other choice did he have, though?

Aang had disappeared and he didn't know who else he could turn to for help. Azula would be a viable option, but that would be especially risky because the Earth Kingdom wanted her head on a pike. If anything, he knew that he could trust her to help him put Ozai back in prison, or even kill him if necessary. It had taken a long time, but he had finally been able to coax her to open up about their father, and it had been such a relief to know that he wasn't the only one who hated him, that she did, too. He also was aware that she could have been lying to him, trying to manipulate him, but he doubted it because the hate that had danced in her eyes like flames was extremely hard to fake, if it could even be faked it all, in Zuko's experiences.

But, in spite of their shared loathing for their father, he didn't trust her, though. He had often heard his uncle say that if you want to know the future, look to the past because it, and it alone, is the best prophet. And when Zuko gazed into the past, the lightning scar on his chest ached, reminding him painfully. He supposed that if he became truly desperate, and if Aang continued to not be seen across the Earth Kingdom and at the Air Temples, he would write to Ember Island, describing the situation to Azula as bluntly and honestly as he could because, other than Aang, she would be the best person to help him get to the bottom of this mess and capture Ozai again.

Zuko sighed tiredly but then his body tensed as he felt a presence behind him. Whirling around as he shifted into a firebending stance, he growled in annoyance and snuffed out his flames at the sight of his visitor.

"Go away, uncle," he ordered, not even trying to decipher how the old man had snuck in past the imperial firebending guards, but knowing his uncle, he had probably charmed them into letting him in.

He felt his uncle sit next to him, sighing heavily. "I cannot do that, nephew, you should know that by now."

"It didn't stop you before, you know?" He hissed, "You had no qualms with going away to your fucking tea shop."

"Yes, I made a mistake, a terrible mistake, didn't I?" His uncle hummed lowly and clasped his hands together, "But, this time, nephew, I am not leaving. I'll sit here for days if I must."

Zuko finally looked at him, glaring at him with all of his fury. "Then you are as much a fool as you've always been! It is treason to go against the Fire Lord's word - I could easily order your execution." He growled out, spitting out the words like venom.

A mere eyebrow was raised calmly, "And will you order my death?"

After a moment, he huffed and deflated, "No, of course, not," he muttered, feeling almost like that petulant teenager he had when he was first banished, but throughout it all, his uncle had never left his side, just as the old man refused to leave him now, but this time, he wanted him gone.

A small smile graced his uncle's features, "I know that you wouldn't, nephew. After all, I am your favorite uncle." Zuko rolled his eyes but didn't say anything, turning away from him. He heard his uncle sigh quietly in regret. "You are right, nephew mine," he said softly. "I had found it far too easy to claim permanent residence in Ba Sing Se, thought of only as a humble man who loved tea throughout the entire city. Not even Kuei knew my identity, and he still doesn't!"

"What's your point?"

"Zuko, the Jasmine Dragon, ever since Lu Ten died, had been one of my dreams, you see? I had yearned for a simple existence for so long- "

"What a stupid fucking dream," he barked.

"- and when I was given the opportunity, I had turned my back on my other great dream, a far more important dream. Do you what dream I speak of?"

He wished his uncle would be willing to speak candidly, but he knew that was a ridiculous notion. "What was the dream, uncle?"

"You," Zuko looked at the man, studying his uncle's weary and drawn features, the hunched-over shoulders. The golden eyes that looked back at him were old, and with a start, he realized that his uncle, the Dragon of the West, looked much older than his mere sixty years of age. In fact, at this moment, his uncle resembled the portraits of Fire Lord Sozin when Zuko's great-grandfather had been nearing his death.

"How was… I a dream?"

His uncle closed his eyes and shame was carved into his face, "You've been several of them, nephew. At first, when Ozai usurped the Dragon's Throne and your mother killed my father, my wish, my greatest aspiration, was that you would redeem our line, Sozin's line, becoming a redeemer of the past just like Sozin's father had been. I had hoped for you to become a Fire Lord who the rest of the nations respected, instead of fearing and hating you just as they did my brother, my father, and eventually, my grandfather. I wanted your life as a ruler to be one of peace instead of misery and loneliness as my grandfather's and my father's became. Personally, I am of the belief that Sozin died more from the loneliness that he felt instead of old age." His uncle's golden eyes opened, and he stared at Zuko intently, honestly. "But then, after I returned from my grieving over Lu Ten's death, and had gotten closer with you, I realized that I never wanted this life for you, you know, to become the Fire Lord. I didn't want it for you, especially after your banishment."

"What?"

"I was selfish, Zuko, so dreadfully selfish. I began to want you to become like me, a man who wanted nothing of the honor or glory of sitting on the Dragon's Throne. I wanted my name to be forgotten by the Children of Fire and even the Fire Royal Family, and I wanted you to be forgotten, too." Zuko felt his rage rekindle at his uncle's words but let him continue, barely. "When the Jasmine Dragon became successful during the twilight of the Great War, before Azula had entered the city, I was the most happy, nephew, happier than any time in my life. And eventually, you seemed happy, too, and I had begun to fantasize a life where we both settled down, working at a tea shop for the rest of our days. I had turned my back on the winds of fate, of their decree for you to become Fire Lord, and after Ba Sing Se fell, I had realized that it was the time when I fully enter the rebellion's effort against my brother. And when you betrayed me, I had known that only you could force yourself to see the truth, to become the man who I always knew you would become." Zuko's eyes closed at the reminder of those dreadful times, of one of his worst memories: the sight of his uncle shunning him, shame and disappoint carved into his chiseled features.

"I'm sorry for what I did," he whispered, the memories bombarding him.

His uncle's hand grasped his own, "I already forgave you a long time ago for your actions under the great city of Ba Sing Se, Zuko. So, when we were finally reunited before Sozin's Comet, I had been stricken for days beforehand that I would never see you again, but by the spirits' grace, we met once more. You were the brave, little soldier boy who came marching home." A single tear slid down his uncle's cheek and Zuko felt emotions well within him at the words. And after several moments, his uncle continued, "But, once the Great War ended, that fantasy gripped me again and wouldn't let go, and while I knew that you could never be a part of it, I still wanted it."

"So, you just left because of a… fantasy?" He asked in anger and disbelief, wondering how his uncle, the wisest man he had ever met, could have been so irrational.

His uncle nodded, continuing, "Yes, I did leave you, abandoning you to run a nation that the rest of the world over hated while I was, as you put it, content with a stupid fucking dream. I was too focused on my fantasy for the Jasmine Dragon, my own personal tea shop, Zuko, I was too selfish. I wanted a life of obscurity and peace away from the Fire Nation where so many memories lurked, and I never even thought of how my decisions would ever affect you." His uncle gazed at him with tear-filled eyes, misery etched into his features. "And for that, nephew, I am so sorry,"

In spite of his anger, he felt tears well in his good eye, draining away his rage, leaving him ready to forgive his uncle. Although he really wanted to be angry at him, scorning and shunning him, he couldn't do it. He loved his uncle too much, and he realized that he would only be acting petty if he held onto his fury; he was no longer that banished teenager. "I'm sorry for calling your dream stupid," he whispered and yanked the old man into a hug, both men letting their tears finally fall.

XxXxXxXxXxX

After their reconciliation, the two heirs to Sozin had visited the Fire Lord's privy chamber, drinking tea while discussing potential solutions to Ozai's escape.

"Have you had any contact with Mai and Ty Lee since you had to banish them." His uncle asked as he sipped from his cup of tea.

Zuko shook his head tiredly, raggedly exhaling. "The last I heard from either of them was when they had been in the Earth Kingdom a few years ago, somewhere in the Colonies."

"And what about your sister?"

He shook his head, but his conflict was clear in his mind. He honestly didn't know, and he told his uncle as much, "I don't know, I truly don't. If I need to, I will write to her, but I don't believe that the situation is dire enough to bring her in yet."

"Azula would be a great asset," his uncle said pointedly, golden eyes remembering just as Zuko's own were.

"Yes, believe me, I'm more than aware of that fact, but even though I'm proud of the great progress that she has made, especially concerning our mother, I don't trust her. I can't; the past is too muddled with our previous… history of violence." Zuko said adamantly. "And, even if I did decide to bring her here, the Earth Kingdom would declare war if they received a word, which they would, you know it as well as I do."

"Then, until Aang reveals himself from wherever it is that he has ventured, you must message the others in your group." his uncle advised after a few moments, spacing his words evenly.

A bubble of hysteria condensed in his chest, but Zuko managed to nod his head in agreement. "Fine, but only if there is no word from Aang in another week. If that happens, then I will write… the rest of the Gaang." He conceded with no small amount of bitterness, praying that his friend would miraculously return from… wherever he was.

A small smile graced his uncle's face as he poured himself another cup of tea. "And Azula?"

"We'll wait and see, uncle," he said softly, preferring to bring his sister to the Caldera instead of writing the Gaang, but he knew that would only condemn her to the Earth Kingdom's wrath.

Glancing out the window, his uncle sipped his new cup of tea, "Nephew, this situation sounds spiritual."

Zuko sighed, "And that's what I'm afraid of,"

His uncle smiled optimistically at him, "I'm sure that Aang will receive your message and fly to the Caldera as quick as possible, Zuko."

He grunted, not believing his uncle's words for a second, "Maybe, and maybe ole' heartless Ozai will turn himself in, recognizing that he's an evil-doer." He hissed out scornfully.

"You claim your father heartless, and I have to agree with your judgment, but those who are heartless, nephew, once felt too much."

Zuko turned to his uncle in stunned bewilderment, "And what are you saying, uncle?"

Golden eyes were sad as they stared back at him, "My brother never had a chance, he truly didn't."

"What are you talking about?" He glared at him, "Everyone has a choice, isn't that what you told me once?"

"Yes, but if anyone had ever been given a situation where they had had no choice, it was Ozai." Zuko's eyes ignited in disbelief, but his uncle held up a hand. "My brother had a difficult childhood, nephew, more difficult than your own in some ways."

His disdain rippled across his features, "He was tortured by his own father just as he eventually did to Azula and me?"

His uncle grimaced, "Not physically, no, but mentally and emotionally, yes. Do you know how my mother, your grandmother, Fire Lady Ilah died?"

Zuko paused as he realized that he actually didn't, "No, every time when I ever asked, I was banned from speaking of such things."

"My mother died in childbirth, bringing Ozai into this world," his uncle's eyes were dark and serious, whispers of sorrow at the edges. "It was a shock, most of all to me and my father, and we were forced to live near her murderer for years." A broken laugh abruptly escaped his uncle's lips, "I hated my brother for so long because he killed my precious mother, the woman who I loved most, and I believe that a part of me still does, but Azulon? The only reason that my father didn't kill Ozai was that of my mother's very memory, I'm certain."

"I never knew,"

"And you shouldn't have, nobody should have. It was a closely-guarded secret known only to those of the Fire Royal Bloodline, and even then, it was only I and my father who knew the truth. Not even my aunts, Li and Lo, had an inkling; everyone had always thought that my mother died peacefully in her sleep months after Ozai's birth, when she was in the very last weeks of her confinement after the birth."

Zuko's one eyebrow rose in astonishment, "Lo and Li had not even a clue?" He breathed out, "And I had always thought that they knew everything. They were older than grandfather!"

"They were from Fire Lord Sozin's first marriage," his uncle repeated the story that Zuko had heard ever since when he was a child. "For so long, it had been feared that my grandfather's Fire Lady was barren for no heirs were produced after over almost two decades of marriage, but when she eventually, finally fell pregnant, Sozin viewed it as a sign from Agni that his long-awaited-for heir was to be borne."

"But they were girls, twin girls named Li and Lo," he finished.

"Yes, and they were non-benders, too, a disgrace to the Fire Royal Bloodline, but Sozin allowed them to live for the love of his Fire Lady. You see, the birth had given him hope and Sozin believed that because his Fire Lady was still young enough, strong firebending sons would follow." His uncle summoned a small flame in his hand and stared at it, voice becoming raspy. "But no sons ever came, and in spite of the entire Fire Nation pleading with him to set her aside, with some even insisting for her execution, to marry a young noblewoman, he didn't because he loved her too much."

He frowned, "He was that selfish?" How did Sozin not see that without a proper heir, the Fire Nation would have become doomed if he had died prematurely, a civil war ensuing as rivals sought to sit on the Dragon's Throne?

His uncle chuckled with no amusement, "When it came to love and his family, yes, in stark contrast to the monster who he became once he started the Great War. In fact, when his first wife died several years after Avatar Roku, he grieved for a long time, mourning her passing for several more years, refusing to remarry at first. But he soon quickly saw the reason: he had no heirs, only two non-bending daughters, who nobody would ever accept. He didn't even have any bastard sons as possible heirs, so it was imperative that he marry. So, his eye was eventually caught by one of the most powerful noblewomen in the Fire Nation, who had inherited all of the lands and riches from her father when he had died without sons, and who was even more renowned for her prowess in firebending and, most importantly, for her young and fertile beauty. Quickly, they married, and she became heavy with child and my father was born. Sozin then declared Lo and Li bastards, keeping the Dragon's Throne from a potential civil war if Lo and Li married some power-seeking nobles and sired Firebenders. Sozin's new wife then gave birth several more times throughout her life, to sons and daughters, all Firebenders, but they all died before they could have begotten children of their own, leaving only the senior branch of the Fire Royal Bloodline to exist. In some ways, I think that it was best. The Cousins' War is a glaring reminder of what happens when the Fire Nation has too many Firebenders with Royal Blood."

Zuko inhaled slowly, "And what's your point to this, uncle? Why are you delving into the past?"

"Because, nephew, those who forget their history are often doomed to repeat it. Fire Lord Sozin is notorious for many things, but history will never know of the great love that he held for his family. It was a love that my father sadly failed to fully inherit. His disdain for my brother was well known,"

"And that's because my father killed my grandmother," he said flatly.

His uncle smiled tightly, "Also, Lo and Li, since they were non-benders, were never allowed access to Royal security and my father had forbidden them from receiving any of the advantages and benefits that the rest of the Fire Royal Family did." His uncle leaned forward, "It was only when my father passed on, that I was able to 'convince' my brother to elevate Li and Lo, and that is when they became Azula's advisors."

Zuko furrowed his brows, "Are you also hinting that you yourself failed to inherit Sozin's great love for family? You said yourself that you hated my father, remember?"

"It wasn't until my son's death when I realized how much family truly meant to me, but by then, it was too late. The winds of fate had cemented my brother's path. For Ozai's entire childhood, my father and I both loathed him." Tears shone in his uncle's eyes, "For so long, Zuko, I hated my own brother, I truly hated him, sometimes wishing nothing more than for the Avatar to return to the world and smite him." The tears then began to spill down his uncle's cheeks, "He had killed my mother, my beloved mother, the person who I loved most in the world during that time, and my father and I proved alike, both willing to condemn an innocent baby to an entire childhood of suffering over something that wasn't even his fault."

"Well, that doesn't excuse my father for everything that he did, does it?"

"No, it doesn't, but promise me something, nephew."

"What?"

"For as long as you live, love your family, and love them all the strength in your spirit." His uncle's golden eyes were old, "Do not make the same mistakes that your grandfather and I did."

XxXxXxXxXxX

After another week had passed, and when there was still no sign of Aang, Zuko had done as he had promised to his uncle. He wrote the Gaang, giving them a brief rundown of the situation, not even mentioning that his father had escaped prison nor that Aang was missing, and simply had ordered the message to be sent. For days, he had waited for any response, preparing himself for a blunt rejection, but in spite of his negative feelings about the task, he was thankful when he received a reply. After Aang's disappearance, he'd been paranoid that everyone in the Gaang was dead and even though he was incensed with them, that fury didn't mean that he wished them dead, a permanent residence in the Gardens of the Dead.

So, he had pleasantly been surprised when he had received a response from Sokka after only a week.  _'We're on our way.'_ And only a few days later, he had received Toph's own letter.  _'Alright, Sparky, be there soon.'_ After reading it, Zuko had briefly pondered how Toph had been able to write and send the letter, but dismissed the thought, realizing that she had probably used a servant or someone to do so.

XxXxXxXxXxX

He and his mother were feeding the Turtle Ducks when a servant approached and bowed lowly. "Fire Lord Zuko and Dowager Fire Lady Ursa," she addressed, "there are Water Tribe warriors and a single Earth Kingdom vessel at the docks who are both quite forcefully demanding to be given entrance. Are we being attacked? Do you want to sink their ships, my liege? Have Water and Earth coalesced to destroy Fire?"

He only continued to stare at the ducks fighting over the bread pieces, "No, we are not being attacked and no, I do not want to sink their ships. Order them to be allowed entrance," he ordered chewing on one of the bread pieces.

The servant bowed once again and left as quickly as she had entered. He turned to see his mother looking at him in amusement and curiosity. "You didn't let anyone, not even the boat-watchers know beforehand that your friends were coming?"

Zuko shook his head, "No, because I wanted to keep the circle of knowledge as small as possible. I don't know, but since the Earth Kingdom practically ordered me, the Fire Lord, to hand over Azula, I've been wary of a potential web of spies sent by Kuei residing in the palace. And if there is, who knows how many?"

His mother quirked an eyebrow in surprise and chuckled, "That's something that your grandfather would definitely do. He was very cunning and capricious." Her eyes darkened, and he knew that she was remembering how Azulon had ordered her banishment without hope to ever return unless Zuko himself, when he was crowned as Fire Lord, found her.

To force her to stop the memories from flooding through her mind, he smirked at her, "I had to get it from somewhere, mother. Ozai possessed none of those qualities; they were always from you and grandfather."

Shaking her head in obvious amusement, his mother's eyes were clear from the clouds of dark memories, "True, my son, very true. Well, I believe that I will excuse myself so that you can acquaint yourself with your friends again."

"Mother, you don't have to do that, and please, don't leave. I need you," he hoped that his desperation wasn't obvious, but he knew that if anyone would be able to detect it, it was his mother.

She slowly stood up and smiled down at him gently, kissing his forehead "I'll be fine, Zuko, and so will you. You are the Fire Lord, the anointed ruler of the Fire Nation, a son of Agni himself. Your friends had hurt you, yes, but they can no longer do so. Remember who you are, and you will always thrive, my beautiful boy." She kissed his forehead again and left the Royal Garden.

After his mother left, he continued to feed the Turtle Ducks, realizing that his mother was right. Although his friends had egregiously wounded him and Aang with their seeming betrayal, they could no longer wound him. Much had changed since the Great War and he was no longer that awkward boy who had inherited the Dragon's Throne. He stayed there, feeding the creatures until the female servant returned to inform him that the Water Tribe Warriors and a single lady Earthbender had arrived at the Caldera. Zuko then quickly told her to have them shown to the dining hall, and to order the kitchen staff prepare meals of celebration.

It was a… reunion, after all.

XxXxXxXxXxX

When he entered the dining hall, he was incredibly relieved that it was still empty. Although he knew that they couldn't hurt him again, he still didn't know what to suspect. How would they act? And how should he act? After all, he hadn't spoken to any of them in years, so how should he even talk to them? They were all adults now. Well, he didn't know about Toph because even though she may be twenty-years-old, she could act younger.

Zuko sat down in a chair and stared down at his formal robes, inhaling deeply as he closed his eyes, fastening the mask of the Fire Lord to his mindset, refusing to allow any bitterness to ruin the meal. And when he opened his eyes, his face was stoic, aloof, even dark. At the beginning of his reign, he had realized that he couldn't succumb to his famed temper and act like a child, so he had constructed a second personality that he was able to slip into, and the results had become a success. He had often heard whispers in the palace, heard the servants and nobles themselves hint to each other that his Agni Kai with Azula had somehow changed him, bringing forth a new Zuko, son of Ozai and Ursa, one who was incapable of showing any emotion, and he had used that to his advantage.

The doors opened across the magnificent table, and servants rushed in and kneeled before him. "Your majesty, Fire Lord Zuko, we present unto thee, the Master Sokka, next in line for Chiefdom of the Water Tribes and his beautiful wife, the Lady Suki, Master of Unarmed Combat and Stealth."

Zuko watched apathetically as Sokka and Suki were led by several Imperial Firebenders into the hall and shown to their seats. He took in their appearances, noting that they looked different, and yet the same. Sokka looked taller and broader, filled out from his lanky build, and based on the fuzz on his face, he was trying to grow a beard, but it was a failure, looking nothing like Zuko's own beard. When he gazed at Suki, he could see the echoed of the girl she had been, but now, she had curves and there was a beautiful maturity in her face.

He also noticed that they both looked overwhelmed by all the customs just as Zuko had known that they would be, the sight filling him with amusement that he refused to let show on his own features.

"Your majesty, Fire Lord Zuko, we present unto thee, the Master Toph, the Lady of Earth and first Metalbender."

Zuko actually felt his one eyebrow rise at her appearance when he first saw her. Unsurprisingly, Toph's aggression was plain as she looked like she wanted to crush the imperial firebending escorts, but thankfully, no doubt because of her Bei Fong parents, she seemed to know the repercussions of such an act. She had certainly grown, in both ways. She was taller, and she had also developed a woman's figure, but based on the clothes that she wore, which were the same as during the Great War except larger, she didn't want to exhibit the changes of her new body. The guards led her to a vacant position across from Sokka and Suki, and she sat down, face turned towards the door, but Zuko knew that Toph was feeling his body's responses and his own heartbeat.

"Your majesty, Fire Lord Zuko, we present unto thee, the Lady Katara, Master of Water and the Art of Healing, the daughter of the Southern Water Tribe's Chief, Hakoda, and sister of the future Chief of the Water Tribes, the Master Sokka."

Zuko watched impassively, keeping his thoughts and shock from showing on his face as Katara was escorted into the hall. She was beautiful, breathtakingly so, and he knew that based on Toph's reaction, his heartbeat had increased rapidly. Katara's blue gown, under the light in the room, seemed to make her skin  _glow, radiant as a spirit_. And as she stepped towards the empty seat next to Toph, their eyes connected for only a moment, but Zuko was struck by the  _weight_ of her eyes, blue as an ocean. Her dark hair fell past her shoulders in soft, natural curls and her lips quirked at him in greeting, but he refused to allow a single emotion to cross his features and based on the fleeting hurtful look to cross her own features, he had succeeded. To him, she had  _certainly_ changed more than any of the others; while she was only a little taller, her entire body had become much more mature, her woman curves quite evident even though her outfit didn't emphasize them. She gracefully sat down in her seat and thanked the Imperial Firebenders.

The servants waited for a few seconds until there was absolute silence, then bowed, falling to their knees in unison. "All hail Fire Lord Zuko! Master of Agni's Eternal Flame! Keeper of the Dragon's Throne!" They cried out reverently, and then they quickly stood up and left the room, leaving behind an awkward silence to descend over the room's occupants.

Not shocking to Zuko, it only took several seconds for the silence to be shattered. "All right, where's the meat? I'm starving! I've been craving Komodo Chicken for the past several days now. I've envisioned tasting some of that delectable snack ever since I last had it, which was the day when we all saw that play about us on Ember Island, the one which had pretty decent effects." Sokka smacked his lips.

Zuko inwardly sighed, wondering if the only things to change about Sokka was his body. Some things never changed, it seemed. "Chefs!" He swiftly called out, his voice booming through the room, the sight of Katara flinching at the sudden noise quite cathartic, actually.

Within seconds, the dining hall was filled with caterers and food tasters, and after only a minute, the room was cleared, Zuko's meal already checked for poison. Just as he had known they would be, the meals looked incredible and the Royal Chefs had truly outdone themselves. It seemed that he wasn't the only one who was impressed because Sokka was drooling and, in a blurred motion, quickly dug into his Komodo Chicken. In stark contrast, the rest of the group had more decorum and slowly are their meals, trying to show that they had manners that could rival a Royal's.

Katara tried to act reserved as she stared at her brother in disgust while Toph and Suki, to Zuko, seemed amused. He himself quietly ate small increments of his fire flakes, though he didn't eat much, not really hungry, having lost his appetite when word of the arrival of the Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom vessels had been given to him. However, he did drink a few glasses of firewhiskey, a lot more than he should have, but the pleasant burn spread through his chest, soothing away what few feelings of fear and nervousness he had left.

Finally, once everyone was full and had finished their meals as much as they could, Sokka began talking.

"So, how have you been, Zuko?" He questioned innocently, elbows resting on the table.

Zuko then blinked in astonishment, already knowing that this entire situation was going to be awkward, but he had had no idea that it would be  _this_ bad. "I'm doing fine," he easily lied, smiling slightly as he sipped from the firewhiskey.

Toph scrutinized him, milky eyes narrowing in consideration, and he was immensely grateful when she didn't call him out on his blatant lie.

Sokka didn't seem to feel the tense atmosphere as he then began to blabber about all the events that had happened at the Southern Water Tribe since the Great War ended and Zuko tuned him out, not caring. He felt his lips twitch slightly in a frown as he looked at Katara, who he noticed was staring down at her plate, refusing to make eye contact with any of them. Zuko was tempted to abruptly question her to see what happened, but he decided not to, thinking it better for his psyche to leave her be.

He was then pulled back into the conversation, "So, what was this urgent business about, buddy? I didn't know that you could sound urgent about anything other than your pops, the Loser Lord."

His good eye narrowed minutely on the word 'buddy', and he felt his fists clench beneath the table. He answered anyway, though, "I'll tell you all tomorrow, okay? You've all had a trying day and should have a good night's rest in the guest apartments." He then stood up and motioned for all of them to do the same. "I'll show you to your rooms,"

"But shouldn't servants do that, Sparky?" Toph's eyes were narrowed, arms crossed.

"I want to do it" He smiled down at her, hoping that he had inherited what Azula had, the ability to always be able to smile no matter the situation.

Sokka suddenly walked up and threw his arm around him and Zuko barely suppressed his flinch and the urge to break Sokka's arm. After a moment of quelling his dark motives, he quickly realized that he was taller than his friend. "Thanks, buddy, I never had a clue that the Fire Nation, and specifically, the Royal Family and palace, was so deeply rooted in traditions."

Zuko nodded but didn't explain. He instead, led them through the palace halls silently, stopping when they had arrived in the guest wing of the palace. "This one will be Sokka and Suki's room," he glanced at them. "I assume that you would want a single room and single bed, am I right?"

A snort echoed as Sokka pulled his wife closer, "That might be the smartest thing I've ever seen ya do, buddy!"

He smiled tightly and pointed across the hall, "I'm glad I made the right decision, Sokka. Anyway, the two directly across the hall are Katara and Toph's, and you two can decide amongst yourselves over who gets to occupy which room. I don't care," he noticed Katara's searching expression towards them but ignored it.

To get away from them, he swiftly bid them a good night and turned the corner a few doors down, feeling the rage lessen, but he needed to know. So, he stopped and leaned his head near the wall, trying to listen to what they were saying.

_"_ Huh, well, I'll be damned. That was weird," the person who spoke was clearly Sokka.  _"_ But, then again, we all know that he was always more than a little strange. He had to be with the Loser Lord as his dad and his killing machine of a sister."

"Sokka!" He heard a slap and a yelp of pain. Zuko felt comforted that, at least Suki had come to his defense.

"Well, I call dibs on that room." A raucous hoot echoed, "Now you can suck it, Sugar Queen!" He heard a door open and slam, informing him that Toph had decided to turn in for the night.

Sokka was chuckling, breathing heavily as he was laughing so hard, "That was a good one, Toph." He raised his voice as he said, and then he quieted, "Well, Suki and I are going to call it a night. So, we'll see ya tomorrow, Katara." Zuko heard Suki elegantly say goodnight to Katara and then another door shut, not near as loud as Toph's.

The tempting thought to peek around the corner to see if Katara was still in standing in the foyer was there, but he ignored the urge, thinking better of it, knowing that it would be an incredibly awkward situation. Turning away, and taking a mental mark of his location, he began a trek towards the nearest secret passage. When he arrived, he placed his heated palm against the smooth wall and watched as a section of the wall smoothly, and almost soundlessly, opened up.

Zuko stepped through and heard the passage close, leaving no traces that it had even been there. He almost solemnly made his way to his study, and after about a few minutes, he took a sudden right and punched his fist forward. A bright flame burst out of his hand and to his left, a passage revealed itself and he strode through and into his privy chamber.

His uncle was waiting for him with a brow raised. "Didn't go well," it was a statement, not a question.

He nodded, feeling weary as he pulled out his crown, dropping it onto his desk, reclining back in his chair after he collapsed into it. He gazed at his uncle tiredly, "It went about exactly as I had thought that it would. None of them, it seems, have really changed," he admitted. "I don't understand, not even a little, how they can simply behave and act like everything is the same as it used to be, but it's not! I know that I'm being childish but frankly, I don't even care right now; I can't help the rage that I feel."

Smiling gently, his uncle nodded proudly, "You are wise, nephew, much wiser than I was when I was your age. Zuko, you have every right to feel that way. You never had any friends in your life until you joined their group, so it is all right. Then when they left and didn't contact you at all, that feeling of comfort and camaraderie turned to bitterness. And with your abandonment issues from Ursa and myself," he admitted, guilt visible in the old man's golden eyes, "it is no surprise that you feel this way. In fact, I would be incredibly worried if you felt that everything was fine."

Zuko nodded gratefully, relieved to hear that he wasn't acting or feeling petty, "Boy, and if I feel this mad, I can't even imagine the depths of Aang's bitterness and anger." The very wonder of those fathomless depths filled his mind with fear-inducing images of glowing white eyes and tattoos, trepidation spreading through his heart as he shuddered.

His uncle grimaced, lips thinning, "Yes, they did make plenty of mistakes, didn't they?"

He nodded his head and to take his mind off Aang's potential terrifying wrath and vengeance, he asked a different question. "Speaking of Aang, has there been any sign of him?"

Shaking his head soberly, his uncle's voice was grave, "The Avatar has not been sighted in over five months."

In spite of himself, he was surprised, and he cursed his hope, the hope that his friend had somewhere appeared in the past days. "And do you think, perhaps, that he's in the Spirit World?" He asked, failing to keep the hopeful inclination from throbbing in his chest.

His uncle frowned, "I honestly don't know, nephew. No one really knows of the power the Avatar wields except the Avatar themselves, and because of this, Aang could be anywhere."

Zuko pinched his nose, "I just wish that I knew where he was at. I'm worried about him," he admitted quietly.

"That is not surprising, nephew. Aang was the only one of your group whom you were able to stay in contact with. It is completely natural to want to know if someone you care about is alright." His uncle leaned forward, putting down his jasmine tea, "You should rest, nephew, a young man always needs his rest."

He nodded tiredly, rubbing his forehead in exhaustion; he hadn't slept well ever since his father had somehow escaped his prison with the aid of a dark spirit. Smiling sadly, he glanced at his uncle, "And I doubt very much that I will sleep well, uncle."

"Then at least lay down, Zuko, and close your eyes, allowing your body its much-needed reprieve."

He smiled in amusement and stood up, "Very well, your advice always seems to help, so good night, uncle" He entered the secret passage, the echo of his uncle's own 'good night' ringing in his ears, bringing solace to his wounded heart.

He took the passage to his chambers and fell on the bed, realizing that when his head connected with the plush cushion, he had forgotten his crown, leaving it in his privy chambers, but he didn't care, electing to ignore it; it would be easier to grab it tomorrow, for he was too tired now, so very tired. Slipping himself out of his robes, he sank into the covers, hoping that he would, indeed, sleep peacefully for the first time since the news of his father's escape.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Katara stared out the window at Yue's brilliant, intoxicating light, unable to sleep, and it wasn't because the moon was full; she should be able to easily succumb to the darkness of rest, but she couldn't in spite of her great efforts to do so.

She felt guilty, and for the first time in years, she felt regret poison her mind, weighing her down, forcing her to reflect on the past, something that she hated to do. Then she would begin to think of her mother, of the charred body that still haunted her mind.

Once the Great War had ended, she had been so jubilant to finally secure the opportunity to return to her home, her village. Just the very thought of seeing Gran Gran again had cursed her to become blind to logic, only bursting with excitement and joy. Now, as she stared up at Yue, she began to delve back in her mind to those beginning days after Sozin's Comet, the moment when she had been reunited with her father and several Water Tribe warriors. Almost immediately after Zuko's coronation as Fire Lord, the Gaang had traveled to Ba Sing Se, where King Kuei and Fire Lord Zuko signed a treaty of peace, with many promises to make the world peaceful and harmonious declared, a symbol of unity between the Children of Earth and Fire. After that wonderful night in the Jasmine Dragon, they had simply left the next morning, she and Sokka and Suki, eager to meet with her father near the peninsula. And now, she wondered if they had even given a proper and heartfelt goodbye to everyone else.

And when she had finally arrived home, to the very sight of her Gran Gran waiting for her, she had willingly elected to keep the Gaang out of the forefront of her mind. So, for the first two and a half years after the Great War she had been completely focused on helping her village rebuild and teaching waterbending to some of the children, children begotten from those who had traveled with Master Pakku from the Northern Water Tribe. She had been so focused, so diligently aiding Master Pakku with creating a new Southern Water Tribe, a Tribe that would rival their Sister Tribe, the passage of time had ceased to exist in her mind.

So, when Aang had abruptly arrived at the South Pole after two whole years of no messages being exchanged between each other and having not seen him since that night at the Jasmine Dragon when she had kissed him, it had been a complete shock, a slap back to reality. He had grown, and not just physically, even though he had grown to be almost as tall as Sokka by that point. Because when he had declared that he had traveled so far to help out with reconstructing the Tribe and to visit she and Sokka, his tone had been… different, so subtle that she truly doubted that anyone else had noticed, but she did, and she began to understand her great follies after the Great War.

He was angry with them, brisk in his words, and based on how Appa had often bristled at them and refused to fly them around the Tribe, the Sky Bison was just as bitter. Katara hadn't thought that Aang was even aware of his dark emotions, but she had noticed it clearly. A blistering rage had burned in the depths of his fathomless, ancient gray eyes, and it had scared her. The realization that Aang was no longer the boy whom she had rescued from a century's sleep was horrifying, the awareness blinding her, forcing her to see that part of the rage that had existed in him was because of her, because of she and Sokka and Suki and even Toph. Instead, he had evolved into her worst fear, becoming so terrifyingly reminiscent of when Appa had been stolen by the Sandbenders. His gray eyes had been alert and active, almost gazing upon people with distrust, only allowing the young children to approach Appa. His gray eyes had always been beautiful, one of the key features that had endeared her to trust him almost immediately after she had freed him from the Iceberg. But when she had glimpsed into his once-beautiful orbs when he was visiting she and Sokka and Suki, they had been a horrifying storm, howling and roiling with displeasure.

And when Aang had finally approached her when he was departing from the Tribe to inform her that he was 'breaking up' with her, Katara hadn't been surprised; after all, they had never written to each other and it was clear, at least to her, that things would never go anywhere, especially in her mind because the boy who he had become was not the same boy who had awoken from that Iceberg.

After a tense few months, Aang had left, emotions of thankfulness flooding through her heart, to Katara's ever most shame. It had been so awkward that even Sokka had noticed, curiously bringing it up one night during their evening's meal, and that was when Katara had simply begun to think about  _the reason that_  Aang had been so angry with them. After days of contemplation, the epiphany had hit her with the force of one of Azula's lightning strikes: it had been because of feelings of abandonment. And what he felt was justified, she had realized. She and Sokka had just left him after the night in the Jasmine Dragon and after the Great War had ended without a second's hesitation. How could she have been so blind, so terribly selfish and cruel? She had once declared to Aang that she and Sokka would be his new family, that they would remain by his side, but what they had done after the war wasn't acting like a family. A family was supposed to stick together through thick and thin; not abandon each other at a moment's notice like they had done to Aang.

Katara had, for the first time in her life, been thankful that her mother hadn't been alive because she would have been so incredibly disappointed and ashamed in her two children, forgetting the Water Tribe's teachings about family, especially when it concerned a boy who had lost an entire world.

And with that terrible thought about her mother, with a start, she had realized that Zuko probably felt the same as Aang did, probably less, but the same emotions, nonetheless. He had been so awkward _–_ _'Hello, Zuko here.'_ _–_  when he had joined them, at least to her, and it had been too easy to see that he had never had any friends in his life, the insight into his childhood something that had essentially, along with his understanding when she had yearned for revenge towards her mother's murderer, helped her to forgive him. And even though she had spewed words of hatred and abuse at him, even though he had hunted them across the world with an utter relentlessness that had outpaced Azula's, he had never quit towards his mission to end the Great War and stop his father from securing his great-grandfather's vision. He had been determined to gain their trust even though he had had  _no_  social skills, whatsoever, and against all of the odds stacked against him, he had succeeded; Zuko had become a part of their family, an integral member of the Gaang, but what had Katara and Sokka and Toph and Suki done?

They had abandoned him, too, just as they had done to Aang – they had almost cruelly abandoned the two people in the world who most deserved a family.

She had cried after that realization, recognizing that she truly wasn't as good a person as she had claimed. For weeks, she had suffered a severe bout of misery, until finally, she had decided to question others about it. She had never brought her concerns to Sokka, no matter how much she had wanted to because he would simply dismiss her thoughts and tell her that everything would be alright. But she did talk with Suki about the situation and her revelations, though.

" _Are you afraid that we abandoned Aang and Zuko?" She looked at her friend, wringing her hands together in anxiety._

_Suki pursed her lips. "No, I don't really think so. To me, at least, I don't think so. I hardly knew them, to be honest. I only knew Zuko as the angry teenager who tried to burn Kyoshi Island until Sokka forced us to interact at the Boiling Rock, and that's when I began to realize that he wasn't truly such a bad person. And he continued to add evidence to that belief the more I came to know him until Sozin's Comet."_

_"And Aang?"_

_"I only knew him as the Avatar," she shrugged. "The only time I believe that I ever saw him remotely angry was when I ran into you guys and we journeyed through the Serpent's Pass."_

_Katara shuddered, still having nightmares from that enraged version of Aang, a being whose power was unequal, who during that moment, had ceased to be Aang. He had become a monster of thousands of years of power and knowledge, glaring down at her like a god, the glowing eyes a death sentence. "Oh, you have no idea,"_

_"But that's all I truly know about him Katara besides the basics: he's the Avatar, he's the last of the Airbenders, he's a prodigy, a vegetarian, that his best friend is Appa, and he struggled over whether or not he should kill Ozai."_

_Katara nodded at her friend's words, afraid that was all she would ever receive, but she had to try. "But doesn't it bother you that we haven't heard from either one in years, discounting the fact that Aang was here for a few months?" She asked almost desperately._

_Suki was about to answer when Sokka came bursting into the hut. "Suki, you won't belie- oh, hey, Katara. You won't believe what we found! Come on!"_

That had been the end of the conversation and Katara had never brought it up again, too fearful to do so, in all honesty. Instead, she had continued doing what she had been: helping her people rebuild and teaching waterbending. Years passed, and she grew older, becoming a woman, and that's when her father had approached her about potential suitors for marriage. Every unmarried man who had journeyed from the North had asked her father for her hand in marriage, shocking Katara - she had had no idea.

Her father had inquired as to any potential interest on her part, but she had refused, not even thinking of marriage, especially since no one truly entered her mind for such a thought. For a couple more years, her father had been appeased by her constant refusals, but one day, it had changed. He had demanded that she do her duty as the daughter of the Southern Water Tribe's Chief and marry someone who could strengthen their Tribe's power. To her horror, her father had given her a list of suitable candidates who had messaged her father, expressing interest in a marriage match. King Kuei's name had been at the top, along with all of the other Kings of the Major Earth Kingdom Cities except King Bumi, and several nobles in the Fire Nation had even been on the list, along with a few of the Northern Water Tribe warriors who she had dueled all of those years ago.

And then, at the bottom of the list, Zuko's name had been underlined, the only one on the list. She had wet her lips, heart beating faster at the thought of Zuko, Fire Lord Zuko, inquiring about a marriage to her, and asked her father. But then she had refused to acknowledge the sadness that had rushed through her heart when her father had disclosed that that hadn't been the case; her father had written the Fire Lord's name as a more than eligible candidate, but Zuko himself had never messaged him.

Her Gran Gran had even begun to pressure her, adding fuel to Katara's ever-increasing age. How could her Gran Gran fault her? She herself had run away from the Northern Water Tribe to avoid such a fate! Katara had been appalled to hear of her beloved grandmother stressing to her about the need for her to marry, especially since she was still young and beautiful. And when Katara had insisted that her Gran Gran should be proud of her, her response had been grating.  _"You are a fully-grown woman, Katara! I was merely a girl when I was betrothed, but you are over six years older than I was during that time. You are being selfish by refusing so many good men, and rumors have begun to spread amongst the men, ones of very… unsavory activities that you partake in."_

That was when she had realized that in spite of her changing Pakku's mind, she wouldn't be able to change an entire culture's, an entire nation's. And the lowest point she had experienced in years had happened when her father, not even a few months ago, had decreed that she had two years to choose a husband from the list he had given her, and if she surpassed the deadline, her father would simply marry her to King Kuei of Ba Sing Se, with or without her blessing.

Rage and devastation had warred with each other, the hurt shining through,  _"How could you do this to me?"_ She had screamed at him, remembering how Sokka had simply sat in the background, unwilling to say a word.

Her father had looked down at her,  _"You've given me no choice, Katara,"_ her only consolation had been that tears had shone in his eyes.  _"I'm not becoming younger and I need to ensure that the Southern Water Tribe will be in a successful position when I step down, or spirits forbid, pass on. And that entails creating prosperous marriage alliances for my children."_

" _But what about Sokka?"_ She had pointed towards her brother,  _"He and Suki have been married for years! They got to choose!"_

" _And so do you, Katara! You have a choice!"_  Her father snapped, looking angrier than she had seen him since the Great War.  _"I've been most generous in my dealings about this, I truly have, but I've finally been an Earthbender and put my foot down. You have two years. And plus, Suki hails from Kyoshi Island, one of their most beloved citizens, a more than worthy ally to our Tribe, an ideal wife for our future Chief – and the Chief of the North, too."_

Katara had never been so angry with her father, not even after Aang's injury after the fall of Ba Sing Se or when he had left to join the Great War.  _"If mom were alive, she'd be ashamed to be married to you!"_  She had jumped to her feet, eyes blazing with fury, ignoring Sokka's sharp inhale.

Her father had looked away for several moments, but when he looked back down at her, his face had been hard.  _"Perhaps you are right, Katara, maybe, but she would be ashamed of you, too, so don't condemn me, your father, who is only doing what's best for his children and his entire Tribe, when you are just as guilty as me. You have two years to choose, and my mind will not be changed. Be grateful that I am not Arnook; he had given his daughter Yue only an order to marry, in Sokka's words, the fucking bastard, and that was it, no chance to rebel or refuse, no choice."_   With those words, he had exited the room, the silence deafening.

Sokka had finally then stood from his position, looking serious.  _"I know that this is hard for you, but you have an unhealthy tendency to become a selfish bitch, you really do."_  His eyes had become hard,  _"You know, I've never forgotten what you said to me all of those years ago when you and Zuko went to search for mom's murderer: 'then you didn't love her as much as I did.' Dad was right, you know? Mom would have, at least during that moment, been ashamed of you."_

After her father's words, and Sokka's declaration, she had shut herself away, refusing to submit, but eventually, she had realized that her destiny was cemented. Feeling lonelier than she could ever remember, she had attempted to write both Zuko and Aang but had ever been able to words on the parchment.

She had been too much of a coward to begin communicating with either of them after her revelation all of those years ago, and now it was far too late to begin to do so. And because of her cowardice, the riff between them seemed insurmountable.

Weeks passed and that's when they had received Zuko's letter, shocking everyone, and she hadn't known what to do upon reading it.  _'I need you all here. Extremely urgent. Fire Lord Zuko.'_

She had chosen to leave because she did miss Zuko, a lot more than she wanted to admit, and because she needed to be away from her father, from the pressure on her to marry.

It had been a relief to see Toph again on the docks of the Fire Nation, and it had been like times had never changed, but it became more than apparent that they had, indeed, changed – and not necessarily for the better.

When she and Sokka and Suki and Toph had finally arrived at the palace and were shown into the dining room, Katara had been incredibly saddened, but not surprised, at what happened. Zuko, the Fire Lord, had been completely stiff. His face had shown no emotion when it had used to be  _so_  easy to read for her; it had been like viewing a rotating series of theater masks: angry, disgust, despair, loneliness, and more anger.

He had also changed physically, as well. He stood taller than Sokka by a few inches and he had  _somehow_  become impossibly handsome; Zuko was... beautiful. Towering over most men, his powerful presence was felt by all. He was a man now, not the boy who had taken the throne after Sozin's Comet. He was very muscular and well-proportioned, alarmingly similar to Ozai when Katara had had the displeasure of seeing the monster. His eyes burned with golden flames, flecked with fire, set in a broad face, and his brows had been noble and arched. His hair was the lustrous black that she had always remembered, and it settled down to his shoulders in curls. He had a close-trimmed beard coating his face that made him look even more beautiful; unlike Sokka's  _attempt_  at a beard, Zuko's was...  _sexy,_ heightening his strong cheekbones and his full lips.

Despite herself, she could still remember the rush of  _arousal_  that had flooded her body when she first saw him, specifically when their eyes had locked for a moment. She had tried to think of something to say through the entire meal, but nothing came of it.

Every response that he had given at dinner was clipped, and when he had shown them to their rooms, he had left as quickly as possible, not even glancing at her.

It was disheartening, quite painfully so. Once she had forgiven him for Ba Sing Se after he had helped her find Yon Rha, they had seemed to communicate so easily afterward. Now, he didn't even say a word to her, wouldn't even look at her.

She was determined to change that. She wanted to no longer feel the guilt and she wanted her friend back, and possibly even more – his name on her father's list was a constant flame on the edge of her mind, flickering and growing larger the longer she thought about. With her decision made, tomorrow would be the day when she would speak to Zuko and hopefully, progress would be made in reconciling their friendship.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Zuko sat in his privy chamber with his uncle waiting for the Gaang to be brought in, feeling quite relaxed from his decent night's sleep, and his uncle's steady presence was also a relief his warring mind.

His eyes darted to the side when the doors swung open and the heroes of the Great War were escorted in by a group of servants, the imperial firebending guards standing at attention, ready for any potential threats.

"Good to see you, Iroh." Toph went over and socked his uncle on the shoulder.

His uncle smiled, "It is good to see you as well, Master Toph." He pulled the Earthbender down into a fierce hug before she could react and Zuko felt his lips twitch at the disgruntled expression on Toph's face as his uncle let her go.

Sokka cut to the chase before any more pleasantries could be given, "So why did you call us here, and shouldn't Aang be here? Where is he?" He glanced at his uncle, "And yes, it is good to see you, as well, General Iroh."

"And it is a pleasure for my eyes to see you all once again," he nodded his head, sipping his cup of tea.

"So, as my husband asked, where's Avatar Aang?" Suki raised a delicate eyebrow.

He exhaled and stared at them for several seconds, observing their expressions and body language. Sokka was leaning against the chair that Suki was sitting on, eyes narrowing more as Zuko continued not to answer. Toph blew her bangs out of her unseeing eyes and his uncle, who was sitting next to her, laughed quietly, and finally, Katara was actually meeting his eyes, gazing back at him intently.

That was new because last night, during the meal, she hadn't even looked at any of them except to glare at her brother when he had begun eating his Komodo Chicken.

After meeting her stare evenly, not allowing a single emotion to slip through, he sighed and finally answered, "The reason that I messaged you all, requesting for you to come to the Caldera was that my… father has escaped from his prison."

There was dead silence for a few moments, and then Sokka exploded, jumping from his slouched position to erect, eyes on the verge of hysteria, looking reminiscent of Zuko's mother when she had informed him of the news. "What? How the fuck could this happen?" They all seemed to be on alert, eyes wide with panic, even Toph.

Zuko waved his hand to his uncle and was grateful when he took over, his steady voice recounting everything perfectly. "My brother's cell was found empty a little over two months ago, and on top of that egregious news, the circumstances around his disappearance should all give us a cause to pause in concern."

"How so?" Katara asked sharply and Zuko was almost amused that she apparently still knew how to speak considering that all she had done since he had seen her was to stare at her plate and himself.

He missed what his uncle had said in response to Katara's question, but he easily assumed it was about what the guards had described, based on the paleness on the Gaang's features.

"So, then why isn't Twinkletoes here? This is something that he should deal with, isn't it?" Toph questioned bluntly, hands clenched tightly into fists.

Zuko almost laughed aloud for he had certainly missed the Earthbender's spunk, but interrupted his uncle before he could answer, rather electing to answer himself. "The Avatar, from everything that I've gathered, hasn't been sighted by anyone in over five months." He frowned, rubbing his forehead, feeling his exhaustion begin to poison him once again. "I've seen countless messages to all of the Air Temples, receiving no responses from any of them except the North Temple – all the Mechanic had said was that none of them had seen Aang in a long time, years if I'm to believe."

"Well, where is he?" Katara demanded after several moments.

He raised his only brow, wondering if she had listened to a word he had just said. "I don't know, nobody does, from what I know, and trust me, I know a lot." He reiterated.

Sokka was serious for once, eyes thoughtful and narrowed. "Okay, everyone, so, we know two things: the Loser Lord has escaped from his presence with help from this 'dark' presence, and that's all without his firebending, and Aang, the Avatar, hasn't been around for several months." He summed up.

Nodding his head, Zuko finally took a sip from the tea that his uncle had graciously prepared for him. "Now, can you all understand why I called you here? I can admit that I need help and I figured that you guys could do offer aid."

Suki scrutinized him, "Why didn't you call us sooner? Your father's been missing for over two months!"

Zuko shrugged and easily invented an explanation, recognizing that Azula would, indeed, be proud of him. "I thought that I could handle it, and I have since seen that I was wrong. Then, once I realized that Aang wasn't going to answer, I wrote all of you." He lied.

Toph frowned but didn't let it be known to everyone that he had been lying through his teeth, and Zuko was thankful. He had always known that out of all of the Gaang, besides Aang himself, of course, Toph would be the one who he felt the least resentment for. While they had connected during the end of the Great War, it wasn't the type of connection that he had felt with Aang, Katara, Sokka, and even Suki.

Although, he had realized that she probably understood him better than everyone else, save Aang. She had grown up in the Bei Fong household, one of the richest Noble Families in the entire Earth Kingdom, and her upbringing would have undoubtedly conflicted with her personality. She understood wanting a parent's love and had been the only one of the Gaang who had given him a chance when he had followed them to the Western Air Temple after the failed invasion on the Day of Black Sun.

His uncle calmly sipped his tea and butted in, rubbing his beard. "What we need to focus on is what we should do until the Avatar returns, I believe." He advised.

Sokka stroked his peach fuzz that-he-called-a-beard in thought, "Well, does anyone have any ideas because I only have one, and it's rather obvious: to me, this sounds like a bunch of spirit mumbo jumbo."

Tilting his head in Sokka's direction, his uncle nodded, features pulled in contemplation. "And those have been my thoughts exactly, Master Sokka."

"And that theory does align with what the Fire Sages had told me when I questioned them. You see, they had investigated my father's cell and had concluded that it was something that they've never felt before. Based on research in the Dragon Bone Catacombs, an event like this has never been recorded in my nation's history." Zuko said tiredly, now wishing that he had slept even better the previous night.

"Well, this sounds like Twinkletoes kind of problem." Toph shrugged, "I don't know what any of us could do. There are no ideas up here to help." She tapped her head.

Sokka abruptly snickered, "Just like there never are!" He didn't see the punch coming until it was too late, and he was quickly sprawled on the floor. A bruise was blossoming across his cheek, but he grinned as he stood back up. "Totally worth it,"

Toph cracked her knuckles ominously and Sokka quickly sat down, molding himself beside Suki, for what Zuko believed to be protection.

The Earthbender's features pinched, "Before I was so rudely interrupted by Snoozles over there, I was also going to say that I'm sure I'm not the only one who has never heard of anything like this."

"Have you interrogated all the prison staff?" Suki asked abruptly, leaning forward, hand clutching Sokka's leg.

His uncle answered, voice calm. "Yes, Zuko and I were present during these interrogations, and nobody knew anything detailing the dark presence."

Toph piped in, "They could have been lying," she pointed out, eyebrows raised almost condescendingly.

"And they weren't," he growled out shortly, feeling his temper begin to boil.

"How do you know that? You're not an Earthbender." Katara gazed at him intensely.

He met her stare evenly once more, "There bodies didn't heat up. When someone lies, their body temperature around the nose and eyes increase quite dramatically, so powerful Firebenders, like me and uncle, can sense the change." He explained.

Katara's eyes widened, "You can do that?" She breathed out.

"I taught it to him when I had arrived a month ago," his uncle cut in.

Toph looked impressed, "That's a pretty nice trick, Sparky,"

Sokka seemed doubtful, though, and then he spoke. "But couldn't Firebenders keep their body heat at the same level, then, even if they were lying?"

Before Zuko could answer, his uncle did so instead, "It is an ability that is known only to the Fire Royal Family, and now you four, as well. Fire Lord had discovered the ability and passed that knowledge onto my father, who then passed it onto me. Now, I have since passed it onto Zuko." His uncle smiled at him and Zuko felt him return the smile softly.

Before they could become even more off topic, he quickly redirected the conversation back to the problem, "So, no one has any ideas about this dark presence, am I correct?"

They all shook their heads and Zuko closed his eyes in disappointment; it is what he had been afraid of, them being unable to help. He slowly opened his lids and looked to his uncle, observing his raised eyebrow, the expectant gleam in his golden eyes, and Zuko clenched his jaw, shaking his head – he was not going to message Azula!

Toph felt his reaction and looked to his uncle, "What is it, old man? What did you look like for Sparky to blow a small fuse?"

His uncle stared at Zuko as he answered, golden eyes urging and beckoning. "I've had a suggestion that I've given to Fire Lord Zuko for the past couple weeks, but he has refused each time, believing it to be nonsensical." The triumphant glimmer in his uncle's orbs was hard to miss and Zuko almost laughed; his uncle was quite the competitive man. Now, he was almost looking forward to the Gaang's reaction at his uncle's suggestion, almost.

"Well, let's hear it then. Anything would be better than nothing." Sokka said confidently.

His uncle smiled victoriously, "Well, since you insist, Master Sokka: I suggest that we bring Azula into the fold."

Silence reigned eternally through the room as the Gaang processed what his uncle had just said until it was pierced by a recovered Sokka.

"WHAT?" He screeched like a beast, "Are you  _mad?_  That's insane, you damned fool! Have you forgotten that she's tried to kill all of us and almost succeeded in killing Aang? I take back what I said!  _Nothing is better!"_

Katara joined in, features flashing with betrayal. "How could you suggest that, Iroh? She'll just try to kill us again. She's probably the one who organized Ozai's escape!"

Zuko put a swift end to that angle, "My sister did not have  _anything_  to do with our father's escape, I know it." He said adamantly. While his sister was many things and had done many things, he knew for certain that she would never help Ozai; she hated the man. They both did and that was one of the things they had been able to bond over while Azula had been imprisoned. Plus, she hadn't even been in the Caldera when their father had escaped, and it was clearly a spirit's work – the dark presence.

"Yes, she could have! She was utterly loyal to the monster." Katara cried out, oceanic blue eyes flashing.

Zuko clenched his smoking fists beneath his desk, "We both hate  _him_ , but the only difference, the crucial difference was that I didn't have to live with him while I was a teenager,  _and_  I realized who I was becoming and joined you guys to stop  _him_ and end the Great War."

Katara looked to argue, but Toph cut in. "He's telling the truth, Sugar Queen." Her words floated in the air, and Katara swallowed, looking like she had tasted something acidic.

He looked towards Suki, "What do you think, Suki? I know that it's a lot to ask, especially considering the… history between you two, but the options are more than limited." She had been silent while the Water siblings had heart attacks over his uncles' suggestion.

She looked at Zuko with clear eyes, relieving him. "She would be a good asset, that's for certain. She has a sharp mind and is, of course, a powerful bender," she admitted. "But that was all before her mind broke, so the only one who can determine if she would be qualified to help with this problem is you, Fire Lord Zuko."

Zuko thought of his last conversation with Azula when he had notified her of the Earth Kingdom's demands for her head, about how, when he had checked the next day, all of the guards had been alive and hadn't even known that the Princess had escaped.

He looked up, "She is qualified, she definitely is,"

His uncle grinned mischievously, "Don't you see, nephew? I told you that this would be an excellent idea." He sipped his tea in success.

Zuko shook his head, "No!" He roared, shocking everyone, "Don't you see, uncle? If I bring her in, then Kuei will declare war!" He growled out.

Toph and his uncle were the only ones who didn't seem horrified, but everyone else was, their features carved with shock and dread.

"Kuei wouldn't do that!" Katara exclaimed, features looking immensely panicked for some reason.

"I must say that that that doesn't sound like him." Sokka rubbed his beard.

Suki had looked surprised but chose not to comment.

"The  _only_  Great War reparations the Earth Kingdom wanted were the conquerors of Ba Sing Se. I was forced to hand over Mai and Ty Lee, but they escaped before they were handed over and I had to banish them. I argued for Azula's stay in the Fire Nation by telling Kuei of my sister's mental health. I was concerned that she would kill some of his guards. Kuei let the matter go until a little over three months ago when Ba Sing Se demanded Azula be handed over or the Great War would ravage the world again." He sighed tiredly.

Toph looked at him strangely, no doubt knowing that he had lied about Mai and Ty Lee, but she thankfully didn't disclose that information to everyone else.

Katara gasped, looking incredibly hurt, "No! Kuei would  _never_  do that!"

Zuko stared at her solemnly, "But he did, Katara, I can show the letter if you would like."

She shook her head raggedly, but she didn't say anything, almost curling into herself.

"Wait, so is ole' Lightning Psycho in Ba Sing Se, then?" Toph suddenly asked, features enlightened.

He and his uncle exchanged glances and then, his uncle answered. "Azula escaped from her prison the day of the transfer was to take place, and no one has seen her since," he informed.

Zuko closed his eyes in irritation; his uncle was truly out to embarrass him, it seemed. He had been going to ease into that part of the story, but that plan was apparently now out the window because his uncle was so mischievous.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Katara demanded, every emotion from Kuei's declaration of war forgotten, only replaced by a burning fire in her blue eyes.

"Then, she  _is_  the one who concocted the Loser Lord's escape!" Sokka raised his pointer finger for emphasis, and it looked like everyone in the Gaang agreed with his declaration, nodding their heads fiercely in understanding.

The candles in the room flared brightly for a split second until Zuko calmed himself. "I was going to tell you," he glared at his uncle who only simply smiled back at him innocently. He shook his head and looked back at the rest of the group, "As I said before, Azula did  _not_  help our father escape. It's a fact."

Katara looked livid, "No, it's a delusion because you wish that your sister wasn't a freak. Don't you see? She had to have done it because it makes perfect sense! She's a monster loyal to another monster!"

Zuko finally decided to let the secret be known. "I let my sister escape! I'm the one who created the plan!" He growled out, smashing his hand onto his desk, an ominous crack spider-webbing through the wood. The candles roared in response to his emotions and everyone, save for his uncle, flinched. He suddenly looked at the large doors, knowing that the imperial firebending guards had just heard his words.

Knowing that his temper was brimming over, but caring anymore, he ignored everyone else, turning his body toward the doors. "Guards!" He boomed out, disregarding the looks of wariness on the Gaang's features.

The imperial firebending guards immediately swung the doors open and all kneeled before him, "Fire Lord Zuko," they all intoned.

His lips curved downwards in a frown, "I'm only going to say this once, so listen to my words." He leaned forward, looming over their inferior forms, looking every bit the monstrous Fire Lord. "The statements that you heard just moments earlier about the Princess Azula will never leave your lips, nor will they ever be communicated with another person via parchment or any other ways that you could possibly think of. Do you swear?"

"Yes, Fire Lord Zuko," they all said at once, still bowed.

Zuko felt some of the tension release from his shoulders, "And you all know the consequences for a violation of your oath, of course, so I mustn't repeat them. Now leave us and return to your posts."

Still keeping their heads bowed, the guards walked out of the room, finally closing the doors once they had cleared.

"Why would you let Lightning Psycho escape, Sparky?" Toph was staring at him curiously after the guards had left, not seeming at all disgusted by what he had just done, unlike Katara and Sokka and even Suki.

"Because she's my sister," he said simply, honestly. "I love her no matter what she's done to me. It may be easy for you all to scorn her very existence, hating her so fiercely that your heart begins to pound, but you don't remember as I do. I remember when we were children before our mother left and we were true siblings, willing to do anything for one another. I know that girl is still in Azula, I know it for certain because I've seen it with my own eyes. That's why I let her escape, Toph,"

Silence fell upon the room, and Katara and Sokka looked at each other. Zuko didn't care what they were thinking for he was exhausted now.

His uncle thankfully noticed his fatigue and spoke up, "I believe that this is the best solution we have until the Avatar is found." He gestured to the group, "And if any of you have potentially better ideas, we would happily hear them, but you don't have any, do you?"

None of them were happy about but they all agreed: Azula would be brought into the picture and they would all work together.

"So where is Lightning Psycho, Sparky? You said that you orchestrated her escape, so you must know where she is at." Toph's blunt voice broke the silence.

Looking at his uncle, Zuko sighed aloud, knowing that he would have to tell them. "She's on Ember Island, at our old house," he said reluctantly.

"What? How could you?" Katara glared at him, all of her displeasure shown in her blue eyes, but Zuko was unmoved. "There are  _innocents_  there!"

He rolled his eyes, almost scoffing at her, "Azula is not going to kill  _anybody_  on the island, and she hasn't – and she has had months to do so! Plus, if she had actually killed someone, I would have known." The death of someone on Ember Island was big news. The most powerful Noble Houses would often stay there, so he, as the Fire Lord, would immediately hear about any incidents on the island.

Katara clenched her jaw but let the matter drop, switching the subject. "Now what do we do?"

Zuko closed his eyes briefly and sensed the sun was at midday. "Well, let's have you all go eat lunch while I write Azula," he suggested, needing to be away from them and their bristling presences.

Suki looked at him suspiciously and Zuko raised his one eyebrow in response, challenging her. "Why do you want to write Azula right now? You could do it later," she pointed out.

"So that I can get it over with," he said, letting the pure exhaustion that he felt to echo in his words.

"He's telling the truth," Toph informed Suki, who seemed to be appeased at Toph's words and dropped the matter.

Sokka's eyes were begging to be released so Zuko waved his hand, "Go to the dining hall and the kitchen staff should already have your meals prepared."

The future Chief of the Water Tribes bolted out of the room and Suki followed him but in a more dignified pace. Toph whispered something to his uncle and soon followed after the married couple.

Katara was, for some reason, still seated and looked hesitant in his opinion. "I was wondering if I could talk to you, Zuko," she glanced at his uncle. "Alone," she stressed, looking desperate.

To his displeasure, his uncle smiled and stood up, "I was about to leave anyways, Lady Katara." He walked out the door and Zuko noticed the guards bow to his uncle before the doors shut.

Now he was alone in the room with the woman who he might have been halfway in love with when the Great War had ended. He cursed his uncle's willingness to put him in awkward and potentially embarrassing situations.

XxXxXxXxXxX

She avoided Zuko's piercing gaze by looking at his study, and to Katara's surprise, it was actually quite large and decorated exquisitely, looking like it belonged to a King, which it did. Zuko sat behind his desk and directly behind him, was a large bookshelf that covered the entire wall, and by his desk, there was a very comfortable couch, which was where Zuko's uncle had been seated.

For several moments, she continued to avoid Zuko, instead choosing to contemplate King Kuei, her potential husband. When she had first heard the news, she had been horrified, unable to picture the nice and naïve man who she had met in Ba Sing Se all of those years ago declaring a threat of war against Zuko.

She then began to have the thought that if she continued to rebel against her father, would he still marry her to the man Kuei had become? From what it sounded like, King Kuei of Ba Sing Se had changed for the worse, and while he hadn't seemed too bad to marry, now he was a nightmare to Katara.

Long ago she had memorized the names on the list, and none of them appealed to her at all, even though she had ruled Kuei the most tolerable, but that was when she had realized that Zuko's underlined name was on it, away from all of the other names the very man whose palace she was currently in. She wouldn't mind marrying Zuko, especially since it would greatly benefit the Water Tribes. She would try to potentially convince the Fire Lord himself, Zuko, to see that a marriage between them could be a good thing. After all, from everything that she had heard since arriving in the Fire Nation, the Fire Lord had no heirs except for his sister, who nobody would accept, and had no wife or girlfriend.

Katara had always yearned to have children of her own, and when she and Aang had dated, the thought of a brood of airbending children had been a nice and terrifying thought, and the very thought of being Mother to the Air Nomads was one of dread. She didn't want that kind of pressure, especially since it would be difficult for her and Aang to ever conceive Airbenders. She was a Waterbender and Aang was all of the elements: a Waterbender, Earthbender, Firebender, and Airbender. Thus, the probability of airbending children between them would be incredibly low.

But she knew that with Zuko, she wouldn't be under near as much pressure. Plus, she had always thought him handsome, even with his scar – which she still didn't know how he had received. But now, he was incredibly handsome, the most handsome man she had ever seen. Plus, they had always shared such a connection after she had forgiven him, and she desired that kind of connection with her husband.

Gathering her courage, Katara fiddled with her hands and brought her gaze back to the Fire Lord, "So, um… how are you?" She cringed the moment the words escaped her lips. That was  _not_  the way she had wanted to begin this conversation.

Zuko tilted his head to the side for a moment, and then he shrugged. "I'm fine," he seemed so nonchalant and unconcerned and it filled Katara with anger. How could he be so calm and unemotional when she herself felt as if she was bursting through the seams of her very body?

"Don't lie!" She glared at him, recognizing almost immediately that she had made a mistake, but she continued, wanting to see the real Zuko, the on-the-brink-of-manhood boy she had shared such a connection with before Sozin's Comet. "You have heavy bags under your eyes and you won't even talk to any of us, preferring to your uncle almost every time." She refused to count the meeting as 'talking'. It was clear to her that he hadn't done that of his own free will, rather he had done it because he needed to.

Zuko's right eye narrowed to match the permanent glare from his left eye. "Excuse me?" He hissed.

Finally, some emotion other than weariness and the brief protective rage that he somehow felt for his sister! This was the Zuko she remembered. "You heard me," she stared into his furious eyes - golden vs blue!

Zuko's scar seemed more evident, "You have  _no right_  to ask me that!" He spat out, climbing to his feet, glaring down at her, intimidating her, but she refused to stop. "In fact, you should be grateful that I even messaged you at all. If it wasn't for my uncle, I would have left you all in the dark and would have simply waited for Aang to return, no matter how long it took. None of you deserve my hospitality."

Katara frowned because even though she knew that he was right after the way they had treated him, it still hurt to hear, hurt a lot. She stared solemnly at Zuko's scowling form. "I know," she whispered. "We were all terrible, weren't we? Especially me when I had elected to, of my own free will, ignore your entire existence, the very Fire Lord himself, for eight years." She swallowed and felt the tears well in her eyes, beginning to spill down her cheeks, "I'm sorry, Zuko, so terribly sorry and I'm so ashamed. I was a disgusting friend and I realize now how much our actions have wounded you," she said in regret.

His right eye widened in surprise, and to her understanding, he clearly hadn't expected her to understand his anger. She had learned a lot about Zuko after she had forgiven him, and it made her actions after the Great War even more vile in her mind. He always expected people would never understand his feelings, and even worse, he always thought the wickedness of everyone, refusing to acknowledge any potential good.

Zuko was frozen, staring at her blankly, no emotion showing for several seconds, and just when Katara had thought she succeeded, his face twisted into something dark, almost malevolent. "Get out," he said quietly, the very look in his golden eyes reminding her of Azula during the Great War. All of a sudden, she had the ridiculous thought that he was going to try to kill her, and when he stepped forward, fear spread through her mind. Towering over her, his golden eyes stripped her bare of every defense she could have potentially created. "I said, 'get out', Katara." He said it quietly and she stubbornly shook her head, knowing that if she could stay a little longer, she could repair all of the damage, and maybe even potentially broach the subject of a marriage.

"No, I know that- "

"If you don't leave, I will order the guards to take you to your rooms, your choice." He interrupted, rage and dark fury spreading across his handsome face the longer that she refused to leave. When she didn't immediately back away, his eyes became alight with a monstrous glow, the flames in the room exploding, "LEAVE!" He roared like a Dragon, a fiery glow shining in his open mouth, and Katara realized that he could hurt her, very flames spewing out of his mouth to burn her.

The guards surged through the doors, fists of fire aimed directly at her, the situation fully out of Katara's control.

"Fire Lord Zuko, is this woman a threat to you?" One of the guards asked, the others' fire burning brighter at the accusation.

Eyes full of fear, she looked at Zuko, pleading with him. After a moment, Zuko sighed and collapsed back in his chair, anger still carved into his face, the very candles shifting sporadically with his every breath. "No, guards, we just had a simple disagreement and my temper was provoked. I am at fault," his golden eyes burned as they connected with her blue ones. "The Lady Katara didn't know the situation, and I apologize to her."

Swallowing hard, recognizing that he had saved her dignity, rather taking the blame himself when she was absolutely at fault. She bowed her head, trying to copy the guards' movements from earlier when Zuko's role in Azula's escape had been almost public knowledge. "Forgive me, Fire Lord Zuko, I realize now that I was out of turn. I thank you for your mercy and grace, far greater than I deserve." She whispered the last part, knowing that it was true.

Zuko's eyes softened a little at the last part and it gave her hope for her future, "Thank you, Lady Katara, it relieves me that we have come to an understanding. Guards, you are all to return to your post, guiding Lady Katara to wherever it is she wishes to go. I yearn to be alone with my thoughts."

Katara wasn't about to ruin the situation by demanding that she wanted to still talk to him, so she complied, walking out with the guards, the doors slamming shut behind her.

One of the guards looked down at her, their terrifying faceplate connecting with her still tear-stained eyes. "Lady Katara, where would you like to go? I will escort you to anywhere you like, just as Fire Lord Zuko ordered."

She inhaled slowly, "I would like to return to my room," she smiled tightly. "I know the way, so there is no need to escort me."

The guard stared down at her for a moment, and she was fearful that he would insist on escorting her, but he nodded his head. "Very well, Lady Katara, have a fruitful day."

"Thank you," she turned and walked past the other guards, but one of the last ones turned to her.

His voice was low, "Fire Lord Zuko is known throughout the entire nation as an emotionless Fire Lord, Lady Katara. He is infinitely suspicious and waits for betrayal, a dark Prince who trusts no one except a close few. The fact that you brought out several emotions in him speaks of his fondness for you,"

Katara felt sorrow at his words, about how far Zuko had fallen because none of the Gaang had stayed in contact with him, but also a pleasure. "Thank you, you have lifted my spirits." She nodded her head in thanks and slowly walked back to her room, the exchanged words with Zuko echoing in her mind, mocking her.

Once she finally entered her room, she collapsed on her bed, feeling the tears well as she gently touched her mother's necklace, "Mom, what should I do?" She asked brokenly to the empty room.

Like she had expected and known, no answer was given to reprieve her sorrow.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Zuko couldn't remember the last time he was  _this_  angry. After the guards and Katara had finally left, his suppressed fury had finally surged to the forefront of his mind, and he was breathing heavily and the candles were flaring sporadically.

How dare  _she?_  She had no right to ask him those things, none of them!

He needed to calm down, recognizing that he would only hinder his plans if he drowned under his rage, so he closed his eyes and pictured the fire that he had made on Ember Island when he had visited with Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee. That had truly been the first time when he had realized that what he was doing was wrong, that who he was under his father's grasp once more wasn't who he wanted to be. That night of revelations had been the catalyst for his change.

His breathing gradually began to even out and Zuko sighed wearily, wondering how Katara could have possibly believed that she understood what he was feeling. She had had no right to do that. He did actually feel bad about scaring her but that was heavily overshadowed by his deep-seeded anger.

Once suitably calm, he pulled out a scroll and wrote his sister the details of the mess. Once he was finished, he stamped the Royal Seal on the parchment and ordered the guards to have the message sent off to his house on Ember Island.

They didn't even bat an eye at his strange request, probably realizing that his sister had taken residence there after her escape, but they knew better than to tell anyone. Instead of showing emotion, they only bowed before him and complied with his order.

Zuko went over to the couch his uncle had sat on, feeling his exhaustion more acutely than before, and laid down on the plush cushion, feeling sleep beckoning like a selfless lover. Complying with the yearn for rest, he closed his eyes and settled his warring thoughts, knowing that he could deal with the Katara fiasco at a later time.

XxXxXxXxXxX

**Well, that's all for this one. Leave a comment and tell me what you thought!**

****Ozai escapes and Zuko believes it to be a spirit, and Aang hasn't been seen in months! Eventually, through the help of his uncle, he writes the Gaang and they all show up, leading to a very tense atmosphere.**

****Okay, in Canon, we've hardly ever heard of Fire Lady Ilah, wife of Fire Lord Azulon, and the mother of Iroh and Ozai. By the time of Azulon's death, we already know that she had died previously. It was clearly also shown that Iroh was Azulon's favorite and besides being the firstborn, I wanted another reason: the reason Ilah died was that of Ozai's birth. Because Ozai technically 'murdered' his mother, Azulon and Iroh both resented him greatly, though Iroh eventually tries to make amends, but by then, it's too late. I think that it greatly 'gels together' with Azulon's actions in** **_Chapter One,_ ** **when he had foretold Ozai's hated reputation throughout history, gaining vengeance on his son for murdering him. Azulon never loved his second son, but he did love his grandchildren by him because he was so fond of Ursa – and plus, they were of his blood.**

**I think that Ozai's characterization worked extremely well in the show because the show didn't need Ozai to be anything other than a firebending Hitler. He was the perfect big bad. But now, I wanted to delve into his past, to explore how he became the monster he did, and I think that I did that kind of well, at least.**

**Honestly, I have always thought that it strange how Li and Lo were allowed access to Azula, tutoring her in the art of firebending when they themselves weren't even Firebenders, so I came up with the thought that they were Sozin's bastard daughters.**

**Also, was I the only one who thought that Fire Lord Sozin himself was strange, a surplus of paradoxical contradictions? From what we know, he had no siblings and was crowned Fire Lord in his twenties, while Avatar Roku was mastering the other elements, but Azulon, his heir, hadn't been born for another eighty years, during the very same year as the Air Nomads' genocide. The main job for a ruler, king or dictator or whatever, is to pass on the crown successfully to worthy heirs borne of their own body so that the dynastic succession is secure, but Sozin didn't do that, did he? He waited for literal decades to create his heir. So, I created the whole thing about how his first marriage resulted in only Lo and Li, failures in the eyes of virtually everyone, and no one else. But Sozin loved his Fire Lady and refused to put her aside. I kind of based the situation on King Richard II of England's. His queen, Anne of Bohemia, failed to get pregnant after almost twenty years of marriage, and she died childless from the plague in 1394. But for all of those years of marriage, all accounts show that Richard II never strayed from her and truly loved her based on multiple historical records that I've read, and he never sired any bastards.**

****About Katara: eight years have passed since the show, and ever since, she's been in the Southern Water Tribe. She hasn't been forced to truly grapple with hard things like Zuko – and don't even get me started on Aang, who has to rebuild his entire people and deal with the realization that he is utterly alone. Katara hasn't had any growth really, she's pretty much the same character that she was in Canon, and let's be honest, she had quite a few faults. I intend for her to grow as a character and help her overcome certain shortcomings. Also, since it was heavily implied that Katara watched her mother's murder, I highly doubt that she would like to think of the past, wishing to ignore the past, ignore her mistakes because that was the only way that she had been able to cope with her mother's death.**

**Yes, she and the rest of the Gaang did pretty much abandon Aang and Zuko because, honestly, based on the character development in Canon, and since they were** **_children_ ** **on top of that and thus very immature and not emotionally intelligent, it's something that could happen. Sokka and Katara were seriously considering leaving Aang to find their father with Bato, never even thinking about how that would potentially make Aang feel, and that kind of forced his hand to hide the letter. Suki honestly didn't know either of them and would easily follow Sokka wherever he went, because let's face it, they would probably become married after the Great War had ended – and in this story, that is exactly what happened. Toph was consistently shown to think of herself first and not others, and that's something that she will deal with in this story.**

**As for Aang and Katara dating, I honestly don't understand. Aang was a child and Katara was just as much one, too. Children don't know what they want, or who they want. The Kataang endgame is a fantasy-like conclusion, but that doesn't always happen in real life, and they, as their characterizations have dictated, don't mesh together. Aang, since he is eight years older now, no longer needs a mom, and that's who Katara is. And most importantly, they need to understand each other, and they can't do that. Their experiences are wholly different, and they honestly have nothing truly in common besides being a bender and fighting in the Great War. Although Katara lost her mom, she can't even understand how he feels about the Air Nomads' genocide and feeling truly alone. She still had her entire Tribe, her father before he had left to join the Great War, and her brother.**

**So, for me, that's why Azula, if a 'pairing' is needed for Aang, is the only logical conclusion. She was completely alone, too. Her father was a monster, her uncle had never shown her the care that he did for Zuko, and Zuko eventually left her after the Day of Black Sun, and most importantly, her mother left. At the end of the tv show, at least to me, it was a motif between Aang and Azula: they were both shown completely alone in multiple ways – physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.**

**I will freely admit that an Aang and Katara story can work, it would be incredibly difficult, but if written correctly, it could work. I'm not confident that I could do that and frankly, I don't think it's logical and I don't necessarily like it.**

**I know that it might seem out of character to have Hakoda kind of forcing Katara to marry, but I think that it would make sense. For over eight years, Katara hasn't done her** **duty** **as the Chief's daughter to marry and create an alliance with someone. Based on historical context, just because Katara was able to change Pakku's mind, which was** **only** **because the elder Waterbender had a thing for Katara's grandmother, doesn't mean that she could change**   **an entire culture** _ **.** _**Look at the North, you didn't see** **any** **other girls training with Pakku when we**   **know** **that there were plenty in the Healing Huts who would love to try what Katara was doing. For at least over a century, the Water Tribes have had those customs and that would be hard to reverse. I know that some of you think that Kanna would put a stop to that nonsensical traditions, but some of the Northern Tribe journeyed to the Southern. Most of them were probably men who sought a higher position of authority and thus, would outvote Kanna because the Water Tribes are a** **community** **and communities are usually a majority. They would appeal to Hakoda as a man because he is the Chief and does have the final say, and Hakoda would eventually relent because it wouldn't be good for future negotiations if Hakoda shunned the new tribesmen.**

****About Katara 'submitting' to her father's order: she isn't being weak, but rather smart. She can choose out of any men on that list, some of the most powerful in the entire world, and if she doesn't comply, her father will marry her off to King Kuei without her permission. Nowadays, this would be completely unacceptable and I agree, but this show wasn't set in current times, but rather centuries ago, where women were often married without their permission. By no means am I condemning Hakoda to be a bastard father, but he's a Chief and he must make the tough calls and unfortunately, Katara will pay the price. As for Katara coming to the conclusion in her mind that she needs to convince Zuko to marry her, it's her being logical and realistic, somethings that are very new to her, so her plan is, indeed, a little far-fetched. First of all, she knows Zuko and that, above anything else, would trump whatever any other 'suitor' could offer her.** **

**I hope you all enjoyed it! Please, leave a review and tell me what you thought of it!**

**_Stay Safe_ **  
**ButtonPusher**


	5. Chapter 5

**Shout out to** **_gaara king of the sand_ ** **and** **_MaximusMMJ._ ** **They both really helped me out with this one, so thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender**

XxXxXxXxXxX

Aang felt better than he had in a long time, and it was more than a shock, in all honesty. He had been on Ember Island for almost three months and his only human company so far had been Azula of all people, and it was actually quite nice, a soothing relief to his battered heart.

They had settled into a routine together: he would always wake up from his place on her bedroom floor when the light of Agni rose, and while Azula would go out into the courtyard to train her katas, he would meditate, trying to restore peace to his chaotic soul, and he was slowly succeeding more with each passing day. Then, once they were both finished, they would share a meal of breakfast and go out into the town, blending in seamlessly with the crowds of Ember Island. While most of the time they went to the beach and destroyed opponents in volleyball or went to the town's daily-held festivals, there were rare times when they would attend a play performed by the Ember Island Players. Apparently, the first play that they had seen together,  _Love Amongst the Dragons,_  was the exact same play that Azula and Zuko had seen as children with their mother. On one special morning, Azula had taught him lightning generation, surprising him. After a moment of hesitation, he had eagerly listened to her, perfectly mirroring her movements, and within a single try, he had created lightning, firing the strike into the sky, the sound exploding through the air; he had been relieved, but he had been the only one, not failing to notice Azula's fleeting jealous expression.

Usually, after the rest of the morning had been thoroughly spent, they would both go eat at some of the food stands and relive the Great War by filling in the holes in the other's memory. One time, Aang had recalled to Azula how he and the rest of the Gaang had hidden at the Fire Lord's own home on Ember Island, the very same home that they themselves were staying at, at the twilight of the Great War thanks to her brother's suggestion after she had attacked them all at the Western Air Temple. Azula had shaken her head in disbelief, wondering aloud how she could have missed something so simple. She herself had then recounted her time in prison and how she and her mother had mostly reconciled, yet Azula had revealed quietly that a part of her heart was waiting for her mother to disappear from her life once again, finding time to say goodbye to Zuko but not to her.

Aang had then known that, while she and her mother had healed somewhat, progress was still needed to recreate the fierce bond between mother and daughter. To distract her from sorrowful thoughts about her mother, he had willingly told her stories of his life before the Great War had ever ravaged the world. She had been fascinated that he had stepped foot in the Fire Nation during Fire Lord Sozin's time and that he had had a firebending friend named Kuzon – _"Ah! So, that's where you had gotten that name from,"_  she had laughed in wonder.  _"I had been wondering because that's a rare upper nobility Fire Nation name."_  Then, because it had felt nice to reminisce about his past, Aang had shared how he and King Bumi of Omashu, when his friend hadn't been a King and had just been a boy who was a few years older than Aang, had ridden down the mail chutes in Omashu together.

Azula had laughed aloud at the end of his story, saying that technically they had already done that together, but he had shaken his head, citing that since she had been trying to capture him, it hadn't counted.

During those times of sharing stories, he had realized how much he had truly missed those times, especially when he had begun to share stories about Gyatso. While he had mourned and was still mourning, his people and culture, he realized that he had never mourned the time that had passed, the very memories that he had, and how he would never experience something like those again.

She had seemed to understand his deep grief somewhat for she had leaned forward, golden eyes serious.  _"I miss the happier times, too, you know?"_ She had said softly, staring up into his eyes, and Aang hadn't been able to look away, mesmerized by her.  _"But that's life, isn't it? It's an irrefutable truth: life is often crueler than it is fair. You lost your entire nation and everyone you ever knew except Appa and King Bumi, apparently, so I'm not going to insult you by pretending to understand what that feels like, but I am going to give you advice. The only way to honor those happier times is to create new happy-filled memories."_

He had swallowed, feeling vulnerable,  _"I've already gotten started, then. Spending these past months with you have been… good."_

Azula's eyes had widened but to his relief, she hadn't attacked him or tried to kill him, rather smirking.  _"Well, of course, it's good, Avatar. I brighten everyone's life up. Didn't you know that?"_

That had eased the potential for an awkward and tense atmosphere, and Aang had been thankful, for both Azula's last words and her advice. Every memory that he had before his reveal of the Avatar had always been vivid, held in such esteem that he realized that he had begun to ignore the obvious shortcomings that he had experienced during his childhood.

Aang slowly realized that he was healing, and it was all because of Azula; he hoped that he could help her heal, as well.

Then, one day, when they had just returned to the house, Azula had abruptly and finally opened up to him about her past, sharing her story, placing a great trust in him that he silent swore never to betray.

" _I was scared during my childhood," her golden eyes looked at him solemnly. "As a child of Royal Blood, expectations had to be met and great demands were placed on my shoulders. And, you see, if I ever failed in my duties, my father would beat me." Azula clenched her fists and Aang found himself filled with anger as she laughed almost brokenly, "That's what happened to Zuko, you know? Our father had thought that he was such a disgrace that he regularly whipped him on the back using fire." She swallowed, glimmers of the terrified girl from her childhood shining through, and Aang felt great compassion. "Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I believe that the main reason father had always blatantly favored me over Zuko even though I was a girl, was that I was the second-born just like he was."_

_Aang nodded slowly, spacing his words delicately, "That does make sense, in a sickening way,"_

_Azula continued after he had spoken, "As you know, my Uncle Iroh was the firstborn of my grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon, and he was beloved greatly by Azulon for he was groomed to eventually become the Fire Lord from the moment of his birth; it was always believed that my uncle would succeed my grandfather just as my grandfather succeeded Fire Lord Sozin after his death."_

_"Just as the Fire Nation has always worked," he commented, knowing it to be true. "It has been this way ever since there has been a Fire Lord and only those of Agni's chosen ruler's blood could succeed the passed-on Fire Lord."_

_"Yes, and everyone, including my mother, had always thought that that was Iroh's destiny."_

_"But then your father was born,"_

_She smiled tightly, "Yes, but to understand, you must know some history about my family. My grandmother, Fire Lady Ilah was younger than Azulon by almost twenty years when they were married." An unamused laugh escaped her lips, "And it's ironic, you see, because there is also a twenty-year age difference between my uncle and my father."_

_Aang leaned back, "I had never known that the age difference was so profound,"_

_"Yes, so, when it was discovered that Fire Lady Ilah had fallen pregnant once again, carrying another child of Fire Lord Azulon's, my grandfather saw an opportunity: my father would be the blade in the dark to my uncle's grandiose light. As you know, every flame casts a shadow, and Iroh's flame was so large."_

_He wondered if every generation of the Fire Royal Family was so dark and disturbed, "So your grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon intended for your father to be Iroh's shadow." He concluded softly, "I can see that, though. Iroh is such a kind soul, a burdened one, but a good soul and heart, nonetheless."_

_"He wasn't always that way, Aang," her eyes stared into his own._

_"What?" He asked in shock, knowing that Iroh had some murky spots in his past, but didn't everyone? "I know that he had once laid siege to Ba Sing Se, but surely that was it, wasn't it?_

" _People change – I think that we are both perfect examples of that," she then sighed and tried to smile at him, but it lacked her usual energy and charm. "A_ _s you know, my uncle was the Dragon of the West, the single man who had terrorized the entire Earth Kingdom for a decade, his very name whispered in fear by the Kings of the Earth Kingdom. He was fierce as fire and his tempers rivaled my grandfather's, the legends say. For over ten years, he was the perfect heir to Sozin's legacy, and he and my grandfather desired to end the Earth Kingdom's resiliency, planning to conquer Ba Sing Se. For six-hundred days, he had been unwavering in his pursuit to achieve glory for the Fire Nation, to make his dead grandfather, Fire Lord Sozin, proud, and he even managed to break through the Outer Wall, the first time that someone had ever accomplished such a feat in the history of the world." To his surprise, her eyes were clouded with sadness. "But, to everyone's horror, my cousin was caught in the crossfire. I don't know he died, nobody does except my uncle himself - and probably my grandfather did, too - but my uncle has never shared details, only saying that it was a father's pride that killed his only son, Lu Ten."_

_"Your uncle blames himself," he said softly, recognizing it easily for he himself did the same thing concerning the Air Nomads' genocide._

_"Yes, so do you see? It wasn't until Lu Ten was killed when he finally saw the 'light', so to speak. He abandoned the siege when the Fire Nation was closer than ever before to conquering Ba Sing Se and he was declared a milquetoast in the words of the Noble Houses and a spineless fool by myself." Azula closed her eyes._  " _Before my cousin's death, my uncle was a lot different and I already spoke of it somewhat. I've heard the stories, the legends whispered by the servants and the Noble Houses. He was crueler and was feared throughout the other nations, not just the Earth Kingdom, but even the Water Tribes. He had searched for years for the missing Avatar just as Azulon and Sozin had done, and he had once even declared publicly that when he found the Avatar, he would gut him like a baby Dragon, but not kill him, leaving him alive so that the Avatar wouldn't become reborn, but just barely, on the brink of life itself."_

_Aang felt chills crawl up his spine at her words, nausea blossoming in his stomach, "I never knew,"_

_Azula smiled sadly at him, "He's a lot different now, isn't he? Compared to the monster he once was, the differences are as clear as night and day. He was still nothing compared to what my father became, though. But, because of his conquests through the Earth Kingdom and his hunting for the Avatar, my uncle was never around for Ozai's childhood, causing repercussions which would echo through history. Throughout all my father's childhood, from what I've been able to piece together, he strove to earn his father's love and his brother's admiration but received neither in spite of his greatest attempts."_

_"How come? Why would your grandfather and uncle never love an innocent baby? That doesn't make sense."_

_Azula chuckled, "When Ozai was born, Fire Lady Ilah, my grandmother died during the birth," she paused and whispered, "I wouldn't be surprised at all if Azulon always resented Ozai because of that, and that was directly the reason for why my father never received the yearned-for love that he had sought from his father. It also surely didn't help that Ozai had no skill at all with his bending."_

_Aang was flabbergasted, "What? Are you kidding? I faced him during Sozin's Comet, remember? And I can safely say that very few Firebenders in the history of the world have reached the height of power that your father did – he rivaled Sozin and Azulon themselves, if not surpassed them!"_

_Her face was colored with amusement and she laughed softly, "My father had to work for his power, just like Zuzu did, because, from what I've gathered and seen with my own eyes, my father and brother were both late bloomers in regard to firebending. Whereas, uncle and I – and my mother, too – were all prodigies, declared such by the Fire Sages, and my uncle was, specifically, always praised by Fire Lord Azulon, songs of admiration being written daily for my uncle's prowess in firebending."_

_"Wait, was Fire Lady Ilah a prodigy, then? I know that Fire Lord Azulon was,"_

_"I don't know, actually, but I would assume so, yes. Azulon's eye would never have been caught otherwise, but I don't truly know because she died bringing my monstrous father into this world." Her golden eyes had wisps of amusement colored within all of a sudden. "It actually runs in the family, the mother dying in childbirth. Did you know, Aang?"_

_His eyebrows furrowed, "I remember when I was a young boy, over a century ago, hearing stories and legends about Sozin's own grandfather having problems siring a healthy male heir. Was that because his wife – or wives – died in childbirth?"_

_"I don't know, honestly, but I do know that my uncle's wife died during childbirth, and mother herself narrowly triumphed over death's seeking hands while giving birth to Zuzu. She had no complications with me, though," she then said with more than a touch of pride._

_Aang looked at her with wide eyes for Zuko had never mentioned any of what Azula was sharing with him, but honestly, that wasn't surprising, especially considering how sensitive his friend was with his own past; it had taken a long time for his friend to reveal to Aang the story behind his scar, and the results had almost been catastrophic when it was shared – Aang had become blinded with overwhelming rage and had almost destroyed the entire Caldera, and then, if he hadn't managed to calm down from his fury, he knew that he would have razed the entire Fire Nation to nothing but ash._

" _My uncle never seemed to care for my father when he was younger, and those effects still haunt this world. When my father was finally grown, Uncle Iroh took an interest in him and his family, but by then it was too late," she breathed out. "The path had been set."_

_"The winds of fate had deemed it so," he intoned quietly._

" _Ever since I can remember, my father had paid special attention to me. I suspect that since Zuzu reminded him so much of his younger self, he loathed his heir, his firstborn son, and he had decided to groom me to be like him. But, to be honest, I was nothing like him," she admitted. "Yet, that had never stopped him. In fact, I think that I was always what he wanted to be: a prodigy, intelligent, and a controlled temper. I will admit that I do have his ambition, but the rest is from mother, who was the cleverest of everyone and always finding a solution when no one else could because she was so cunning."_

_He closed his eyes, "And Zuko was his father reborn," the words floated in the air._

_"Yes, Zuzu was just like our father in so many ways. He had his temper and bitterness, and he seemed curse just as our father was. Zuzu had always strived for his father's love just like Ozai had strived for Azulon's, but like history had declared, neither received the love they had so desperately yearned for." Azula sighed quietly and brought her hand to rub her face._

" _What about your school?" Aang asked, trying to slightly change the subject. "What was it like? I heard Zuko once mention something about it – the Academy, I think it was."_

_Azula laughed quietly and stared at him, "I was placed in the Fire Royal Academy when I bent my first flame, and it's where I had first met…" she paused, and her fingers curled into white-knuckled fists, jaw clenched in anger. "Mai and Ty Lee," she almost spat out, golden eyes finally showing her anger._

_Aang looked at her sympathetically, with large amounts of compassion. Although the Gaang had never betrayed him in the same way that Mai and Ty Lee had betrayed her, the Gaang had abandoned him. He understood what those dark emotions felt like, the feeling of powerlessness that contained the capacity to turn good people cruel._

_He had been so young - too young, in all honesty - during the Great War that the idea of truly being alone had never resonated within him. He had naively refused to contemplate the future of his life and how the Air Nomads would return, and how he would be able to even accomplish it while he had been mastering the elements. Then, once he had ended the Great War, the Gaang had all went their separate ways, and that was when, as if for the first time when he had discovered Gyatso's skeleton, Aang had realized that he was completely alone and that nobody could ever be as alienated and isolated as he himself was. Years passed, and it had only been Zuko who had stayed in contact with him, while the others hadn't ever written him, had forgotten about him, disposed of him as soon as he had ended the Great War and saved the world. Eventually, his heart became wounded by their seeming rejection of him, and then it had morphed into mind-numbing bitterness. Then, one day, it had all changed for a tide swallowed all of those feelings and changed them, adding drops of darkness to them, until he finally became enraged, anger fully-rooted in his mind._

_Azula interrupted his thoughts, "I had never had a friend before in my life. The only people who I had known then were just Zuzu, mother, father, uncle, Lu Ten, and grandfather. I had yearned for a steady presence in my life that wasn't any of them, so I approached them, not having high hopes for my endeavor, yet, against all of the odds, I actually liked them." She shook her head in disbelief, golden eyes flashing with memories and anger. "Mai had been so dreary, so boring, but I had found her fascinating, especially since she was high-class and of one of the Noble Houses, yet in spite of all of that, she had been emotionless – a paradox! And it had been a refreshing change of pace." Azula closed her eyes, "Ty Lee had, I will admit, taken a lot longer to get used to. She was so exuberant, and since I had never encountered someone like her before, I found her ceaseless enthusiasm grating. But, eventually, I then grew to tolerate her presence and I had even grown to like her as well." She snarled, blue flames snapping across her fingers, a deadly omen._

_Since he knew that she was beginning to get worked up, he stood up and grabbed one of the books off of one of the shelves to his right._

_"And what in Agni's name do you think that you are doing?" She had hissed, eyes flashing with a promise of death._

_He knew that he shouldn't have interrupted her, but he also knew that if he hadn't, she would have been lost in a haze of hatred. "Here," he tossed her the book and she easily caught it. "I want you to tear the book apart, and while doing so, think about all of your rage and hate, the terrible memories that lurk in every recess of your mind. And most importantly, you will not bend."_

_Azula stared at him, jaw clenched, blue flames still hovering in her hands. "You have great gall, Avatar," she hissed. "There is no way that I am doing something so asinine! No, fuck you, Avatar, and your foolish words."_

_Aang sighed and stared back at her furious face solemnly, "Do you trust me, Azula?" He asked quietly, "Are you willing to allow the healing process to begin? Trust me, please, okay?"_

_Her face was frozen as he stared down at her, watching as her wide eyes observed his own features. Then, after several seconds, she wet her lips, blue flames sputtering to their death. "I trust you, Aang,"_

_Sighing inwardly with intense relief, he then smiled encouragingly at her, "Thank you, Azula, I don't ever intend to break that trust, okay? Will you at least try my suggestion?"_

_Her golden eyes were critical, "This is ridiculous," she muttered and yanked the book out of his hands, beginning the process. He watched quietly as she ripped through the first page and then the second, features becoming more pinched with rage with each page torn through. And halfway through the book, Azula's face was twisted in a menacing snarl, lips curled back in a feral display of savagery as she used extreme force to tear through a single page._

_She was finally letting it all go._

_Aang continued to observe, not saying and hardly breathing. He didn't know what she was thinking about, but he had a pretty good idea as minutes passed, and Azula's face was covered with a sheen of sweat, panting like an animal, shreds of paper covering her legs and feet as she ripped through every last page. When she finally finished, her eyes were wide, comprehension beginning to shine within instead of animalistic intensity. "What was that?" She breathed out, fingers ghosting through the scraps of paper littered all around her._

_Aang nodded towards the heap of paper on the floor and on her legs, of what was a former book. "It was a healthy way for you to release your anger."_

_Azula continued to stare at him, "I feel different, like something has been re-aligned," she admitted._

_He smiled gently, but not with pity, understanding instead shining in his gray orbs, "That's good, so very good, Azula. Your anger has been simmering for years, taking up so much of your mental energy as it has been aggressively and violently growing. You have never been able to be free of it, instead choosing to ignore your feelings and 'stuff' them down, damaging your psyche and ultimately, it's why your mind broke. Now that you have taken these first steps, you can hopefully be free and become who you were always meant to be."_

_Her eyes looked suspiciously misty, but Aang wasn't certain. She inhaled slowly, fingers flicking off some of the scraps of paper from her legs. "Shall I finish my story, then?"_

_Aang smiled softly, "If you want to. It's your story, not mine so you can choose what you want to do."_

_Azula observed him before she then suddenly smirked, "It's a pretty long tale, Avatar."_

_"We've got plenty of time," he gestured around. "I wouldn't rather be anywhere else, I swear,"_

_"You're quite a charmer, aren't you?" She hummed, a smile gracing her lips, "So, where was I?" She pondered, "Oh, yes, when I was at the Academy. After I had finished…"_

They had stayed up the entire night, the past shared and fully disclosed, no barriers between them, at least for her. Aang had to admit that he wouldn't be so easy to trust her with such intimate knowledge about himself and his past, and whenever he thought of sharing more with her, the scar on his back pinched in warning. So, while he had begun to trust her more than pretty much anyone, shocking considering their shared history of violence, except Zuko, he wasn't about to forget the past either, and he was hesitant to.

He did know that Azula had a hard and arduous childhood, and now, Aang truly hoped that she would be able to find true peace, something that had alluded her so far with the ease of a Master Airbender. Then, over the next week, they had become even closer and Aang found that he was truly enjoying her presence – and it was dreadful to envision a time when she would no longer be in his life. If anyone would have told him, even a year ago, that he would look forward to spending time with Azula of all people, he would have called them crazy, but the winds of fate work in mysterious ways.

Now, sitting down for his morning meditation, he decided that, after much time of putting the task off, he would finally take the time to summon Avatar Anil forward.

" _Avatar Aang,"_ the Airbender before him seemed full of life and the very antithesis of Avatar Yangchen.

"Avatar Anil," he nodded his head in greeting. "I have spoken with many of your successors and have gotten nowhere, so I come to you at last. Avatar Boruk suggested that you might be knowledgeable about this matter."

" _And what matter is that, Avatar Aang?"_ Anil questioned, arrow tattoos a soothing sight to his wounded heart. He had never known if he would see another set of airbending tattoos save for Yangchen.

Aang held up the scroll for his fellow Airbender. "This scroll,"

His predecessor from thousands of years ago looked at it blankly.  _"And what scroll is that? I've never seen it."_

He was quite taken aback for he had thought that Anil would know, "It's an airbending scroll that contains details on how an Airbender can achieve true flight without the need for a glider."

Anil raised a brow in curiosity,  _"I have never heard of that ability before."_

"So, you never mastered the ability, then," he concluded sadly. "Boruk had mentioned that in Avatar Keska's time, your successor, she had killed an unnamed Airbender who had managed to unlock the secret to weightlessness, the art of true flight, untethering himself from the Earth."

 _"Why are you so curious, Avatar Aang? And matter of fact, I had never known that the ability existed."_  A look of almost envy crossed his features.  _"I wish that I had known, so that I could have mastered it."_

"I'm trying to find which of my predecessors mastered the ability," he almost snapped, but immediately recognizing that yelling at Avatar Anil wouldn't bode well for either of them. "Years ago, when I was in the Avatar State, I had utilized someone's knowledge and power over true flight, but I have yet to find who. I had thought that you would know."

_"Why?"_

Aang finally rolled the scroll back up, "Because Avatar Boruk had heard legends of the ability, and I figured that the unnamed Airbender would have heard of them in Avatar Keska's time because of your reign as Avatar; maybe legends of your mastery of such an ability had spread like fire itself."

Anil then frowned, _"I'm sorry to be of no help to you, young Avatar. I truly wish that I knew the answer to your problem, but I do not."_

"Well, should I go back further, then?" He asked incredulously. "I've already gone back eight Avatars, two full cycles, which is two-thousand years!"

Anil nodded slowly and carefully, eyes narrowed.  _"I do believe that something dark is at the root of this problem, Avatar Aang. Going back further would be the best way to find these roots."_ He dispersed and rushed back into Aang's body.

He sighed and wearily rubbed his forehead, knowing that something was 'off' with the entire situation, but knowing what it was; he needed to solve it! With determination gnawing at his heart, he closed his eyes and looked deep into his soul, and just as he was about to call forth one of his predecessors, he was interrupted by Azula, who had just walked in.

"Talking to yourself again?" She smirked, lips curled.

Aang opened his lids only to roll his eyes up at her smiling face, "We've already talked about this, Azula."

Azula dismissed him with her hand, waving him off. "Please, Aang, I'm just teasing you. So, lighten up, Avatar," she stared at him then for several moments, golden eyes becoming serious. "And let me guess, whoever you have just spoken to didn't know anything about your problem."

Aang stared at her with wide eyes, shocked at her intelligence, not really understanding why he continued to be surprised by her. He had never told her of the airbending scroll and the subsequent problems that arose from its discovery. And yet, she had somehow known that something had been bothering him, that an Avatar problem had weighed down his mind. It seemed that Azula was still as observant as she had been when she was hunting him across the world all of those years ago during the Great War.

"No, they didn't," he closed his eyes. "Nobody does! I've traveled back to predecessors who haven't existed for over two thousand years, and yet, I'm still nowhere!"

"What is the problem?" She asked curiously after a moment.

Instead of answering verbally, he abruptly tossed her the scroll and she effortlessly caught it, eyebrows raised. She unfurled the parchment, the crinkling sound echoing, and read the contents.  _'Let go of the misconceptions that plague you. Enter the void and become the wind.'_ Her eyes widened slightly with surprise and she looked at him, excitement almost shining in her golden eyes.

"Why don't you fly around then?" She asked incredulously, voice rising. "You clearly have the knowledge on how to do so."

"I found it at the Southern Air Temple a few months ago." Aang sighed, "I had never heard of this ability before, and any of the Avatars who I have spoken with have either only heard myths that they hadn't believed, or they hadn't heard of the ability at all."

"Is that how you floated in… Ba Sing Se?" She questioned after a moment, and her face pinched in guilt at her words.

He looked at her pointedly, "I forgave you for that, Azula, and to answer your question, yes. I am certain that's how I was able to float in Ba Sing Se."

"So, one of your past lives could do this," she concluded and held up the scroll. "And that's the problem, isn't it? You want to learn it, but you need a teacher. You need to discover who of your numerous past lives mastered this… 'become the wind' ability."

Aang nodded and had an idea. "Since you were able to communicate with Avatar Boruk, would you like to stay with me while I summon another of my predecessors?" He asked curiously and a little hope-filled.

Azula's eyes lit up and she smirked down at him, a pleased expression on her face. "Does the Avatar himself, the most powerful man in the whole world, need my help?" She said innocently.

"I don't need it, but I would appreciate it," he corrected. "You're a set of fresh eyes who can perhaps look at this from a different angle than I have been doing."

Azula sat down next to him, "Very well, I'm quite curious to speak with another version of you."

He breathed deeply after smiling at her briefly and closed his eyes, delving deep into his soul, focusing intently and unwaveringly. He passed Anil's presence and looked further, already having decided to travel to four Avatar Cycles before Anil was born, to speak with the Air Nomad Avatar from around eight-thousand years ago.

He journeyed deeper and deeper, surpassing over a dozen Avatars, feeling the passion of Fire, the resiliency of the Earth, and the adaptability of Water. He hesitated as he hovered over the Water Avatar, a feeling fluttering through his mind. He had decided to speak with the Air Avatar, but a strange sensation desired for him to speak with the Water Avatar. Determining that he should honor his instincts, he summoned the Avatar borne of Water.

" _Avatar Aang, I greet you and your lovely companion, the Princess Azula. It has been many millennia since I've been summoned forth. My name is Avatar Kirku,"_  the man who had just appeared before both he and Azula looked very similar to Piandao. He had the same type of posture and look to him, but his eyes were blue as water.

"Avatar Kirku," he nodded his head in greeting, seeing Azula hastily do the same after overcoming her shock that one of Aang's past lives knew who she was. "I was going to speak with your predecessor, but something told me that I should speak with you. My Earthbender is shining through, so I will be blunt: why?"

Kirku smiled at him, amusement flashing through his water-colored eyes. _"Because I can actually help you, Avatar Aang. I know the truth that you so desperately seek, and the answers to the questions that you don't know that you need to ask."_

His eyes widened, "That's excellent," he glanced at Azula, who was staring at Avatar Kirku's ethereal body in awe. "You need to reveal it, then. And what are these questions that I need to ask? And the answers, I suppose?"

" _To understand what I will reveal to you, you must first know the history of who we really are."_  Kirku stared at him intently.

"And what exactly are you talking about, Avatar Kirku? _"_  Aang demanded, dimly noticing that Azula finally overcame her awe and frowned at Kirku's words. "I know who I am: the Avatar, Master of the Four Elements, and the Balance-Keeper, the World Spirit in human form, a god masquerading as a mortal."

" _There is no such thing as the World Spirit, Avatar Aang,"_ his past life began. _"That title was a facade created by the Earth Kingdom whilst my successor was growing up; they wanted to persuade the young Avatar into believing that she should only serve the Earth Kingdom since the World Spirit implies that the Earth Spirit is actually the Avatar. Sadly, this falsified title has since grown in popularity and the real truth has been lost to the ages."_

Aang stared at his past life in bafflement, "So, are you saying that everything that I've ever been taught has been a lie all along?" He demanded in disbelief, wondering how Kirku could believe that any of his words made sense.

Azula finally spoke up and she mirrored Aang's own thoughts. "This doesn't make any sense, Avatar Kirku. Surely you must understand that we cannot accept these… falsehoods as the truth."

Instead of looking discouraged as Aang had thought he would, Kirku smiled gently at both of them,  _"It will soon make sense, Avatar Aang and Princess Azula, once you actually listen to what I am telling you. You must let me explain."_

"Very well," he motioned forward. "I would like to hear your explanations, Avatar Kirku,"

"And I would, as well," Azula pointed out.

Kirku nodded his head in consent,  _"Thank you, both of you._   _You both must understand that_ _the Four Nations used to be different. During my reign as Avatar, there was no Fire Lord and the Water Tribes had not been located at the Poles until the twilight of my life. The Air Nomads, your people, Avatar Aang, were just beginning their process of seclusion and enlightenment while the Earth Kingdom was just starting to become more assertive and stubborn in their beliefs."_

"So, the Four Nations have each evolved over time?" Azula concluded without hesitation, and Aang admired her for it.

 _"Yes, Princess Azula,"_  Kirku nodded and turned to stare directly at Aang with an intensity to rival Avatar Kyoshi, _"Do you, Avatar Aang, know anything about who the first Avatar was?"_  Aang briefly saw Azula raise her eyebrows at the question, curiosity carved into her features.

He shook his head quickly, "No, no, not at all. I don't even know his or her name, Avatar Kirku. I never saw a reason to journey that deep into the Avatar Cycle."

Kirku sighed but looked excited by such the chance to reveal a seeming forgotten history,  _"Avatar Wan was the first of us all, Avatar Aang, the very first Balance-Keeper, and it was he who laid the foundations for our very existence. If you wish to understand his ascension, you must know the reasoning behind it."_

Aang was about to speak, but Azula beat him to it. "You said ascension. Why? Are you implying that Wan was just a regular, mortal human before he became the Avatar, then?"

His past life smiled at her,  _"Yes, he was, Princess Azula. You are quite bright, you know? In my time, you might have been the smartest person in the world behind myself."_

He almost laughed at the curious mixture of pride and the sheer offended look on her face. "I'm not sure how to react to that," she said after a moment.

Kirku ignored her words, continuing with his story about the first Avatar.  _"When he had just been a regular human, Wan was a troublemaker, always willing to thwart anyone. And eventually, because of his willingness to attract and deal out trouble, Wan was exiled from his home and sent to the Spirit Wilds."_

"And where is that?" He questioned, never recalling any place with such a name.

" _It's in the Spirit World, Avatar Aang,"_  he inhaled slowly and continued,  _"Back in Wan's time, the Spirit World could be reached by anyone."_

Azula's eyes widened, "How is that possible?" She exclaimed, looking truly shocked and Aang himself was a little better. He had never known. "Only the Avatar can freely enter the Spirit World! Everyone has always been taught that only the Avatar possesses such power. My uncle has been rumored to have visited the Spirit World, but I personally believe his grief had caused him to have hallucinations."

"Okay," he cut through Azula's praise of the Avatar's power and Iroh's potential visit to the Spirit World. "How were people then able to enter the Spirit World? It is incredibly difficult, and I say this with the knowledge that I'm a prodigy – the first time was arduous for me."

" _There were two separate Portals that bridged the two worlds together, the Material Realm and the Spiritual Realm."_  Kirku explained, _"In spite of his exile from his home, Wan was curious about the Spirit World and with zeal, traveled through the Portal into the Spirit Realm. While he was there, he slowly made friends with the spirits and was eventually accepted and trusted by them. Then, after he had decided to explore more of both of the Realms, he ran into Raava and Vaatu."_

Aang recognized the names intimately but he had no idea who they were, and it dawned on him that he should know them. "Who are they, Avatar Kirku?" He leaned forward almost eager for the answer, and while Azula was much reserved, her golden eyes were keen for knowledge.

 _"Raava and Vaatu are the mighty spirits of Light and Darkness,"_  Kirku stared at them both intently.

"And why are they so important, then?" Azula asked, "They sound generic, in all honesty,"

" _They were the two who created the Mortal Realm,"_ his past life stated seriously.  _"From what I know, together, they shaped its very formation."_

After overcoming his shock, Aang nodded his head, "So they were incredibly powerful, then," he concluded. "Yet, how come I, as Aang, have never heard of them?" He was certain that in his past lives he had known those names, but he had never known them before Kirku had just revealed them to him.

" _You'll see, Avatar Aang, you'll see, I promise._ _Raava and Vaatu are the most powerful of the spirits, the ancient cosmic forces of Light and Darkness, forever supposed to be merged in harmony with one another, physical bodies tethered to each other. And with their combined power, they created this world and then the Lion Turtles, who then created humans and the spirit, Koh gave these humans their faces."_  Kirku paused again and before he could speak again, the void of silence was pierced.

"The Face Stealer was who gifted humans their faces?" He raised his eyebrows, "If that is actually true– "

" _And I can guarantee you that it is, Avatar Aang,"_

"- then the humans must have then done something which brought great insult on Koh. Now, he steals the faces he gifted them."

Kirku's eyebrows furrowed,  _"That makes sense, but I don't know why the Face Stealer would feel the need to listen to mortals. They tend to be petty and arrogant, delusions of self-grandeur evident. Koh is far too powerful to listen to their words."_

Aang nodded his head, "And that wouldn't explain why he stole Ummi's face." With that said, he could feel the burning vengeance in his soul as Avatar Kuruk stirred, and within moments, Kirku's ethereal form flickered like a dying candle. His eyes widened as he realized that Kuruk was attempting to appear in Kirku's place, but he swiftly put a stop to that, sending Kuruk back into the fathomless abyss in his soul.

" _Thank you, Avatar Aang,"_  his past life said, water-colored eyes surprised.  _"I wouldn't have been able to fend him off. He is powerful and the rage in his heart burns brighter than Agni himself."_

"And who are you talking about?" Azula demanded, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I know it's a past life of yours, Aang, but I doubt that Avatar Kyoshi or Avatar Roku had such rage."

He turned towards her, "We are speaking about Avatar Kuruk, Azula, the predecessor of Avatar Kyoshi."

"The Water Avatar?" She clarified, "I think that I've heard legends of him."

"And you would have, I'm sure," he nodded his head in consideration. "Kuruk lived a long time and I do know that he was egotistical, probably siring many bastards in his life. It wouldn't surprise me if most of the Water Tribes nowadays, both North and South, are borne of his line."

She nodded, "He sounds like the antithesis of you, Aang." She smiled at him slightly and looked at Avatar Kirku, "So how did humans gain the ability to bend, Avatar Kirku? I would like to know that." Azula questioned curiously, her golden eyes gleaming with the lust for more knowledge.

" _The Lion Turtles were Energybenders."_  Kirku laughed as Aang's expression twisted with disbelief and shock.  _"Yes, I know what that is, Avatar Aang. From what I do know, the Lion Turtles used energybending to gift humans with bending. Eventually, humans learned they had to think and behave like their element and that is how the bending arts were created."_

Aang felt like he had heard this story before, and he realized that it was probably when Kirku's predecessor told Kirku himself the story, but it was still a lot to process. "So, what happened with Wan, then?"

Kirku sobered,  _"We must go back further for you to comprehend the magnitude of what Wan had accomplished,"_ his eyes became hazy-looking and his voice became raspy, almost a hiss.  _"Ten-thousand years before Wan was even born, Vaatu had managed to untether himself from Raava and then had broken through the divide that separated the Plane of Spirits from the Material World. About every spirit, whether good or dark, followed Vaatu and invaded the Mortal Realm with him, terrorizing the early humans. When the mortals became nearly-extinct, they sought desperate measures to ensure their survival against the calamity, and eventually, they were forced to climb on top of the Lion Turtles for their protection, having found their ensured-survival. After witnessing the chaos and darkness unleashed over the Material and Spiritual Worlds, Raava eventually managed to tether both she and Vaatu back together once more to prevent further damage to both of the Realms. But because they had become fastened back together in the Mortal Realm, they were stuck there, unable to journey into the Spirit World, partly in fear that Vaatu would manage to corrupt a horde of spirits to attack Raava and free him. For thousands of lifetimes, they had stayed trapped in your Realm, forever amalgamated, but then Wan, one day, had stumbled upon them. Vaatu had then seen an opportunity as this human, who he didn't know the identity of nor of his destiny, had fallen into a pit that he had no knowledge of. No other spirits, even the Elementals and the Face Stealer themselves, dared to approach Raava and Vaatu's forever-fighting forms. But Wan didn't know that those who communicated with Vaatu became slowly tainted with the darkness – and it was why Raava had taken such great lengths to keep them tethered to one another. And knowing this, Vaatu subtly managed to trick the gullible Wan into freeing him from Raava's grip."_

"And how could a regular human free such a powerful spirit, the ancient cosmic force of Darkness? And for that matter, how could Wan best Raava, the Light Spirit? She wouldn't have let Vaatu go without a fight." Azula stated incredulously.

" _Wan bent fire at Raava, who had become so caught off-guard by the sheer shock and audacity of the mortal, wasn't able to defend herself, and Vaatu became unfastened from Raava because of Wan's thought-to-be gallant deeds,"_ Kirku said plainly.

After overcoming his shock, he sputtered, "But you cannot bend in the Spirit World! Believe me, I've tried on multiple occasions." Aang's voice cut through Kirku, his ethereal form wavering for a moment.

" _Remember, Aang, they weren't in the Spirit World at that point. Raava and Vaatu's physical bodies were in the Mortal's Realm. And, actually, you can bend in the Spirit World, Avatar Aang._ _If anyone, no matter the bender, travels through the Spirit Portals, they will retain their bending abilities because their physical body will be in the Spirit World, not just their spirit."_ Kirku explained calmly.

Aang sobered as his past life's reasoning did make quite a bit of sense. "So, that was when Wan realized his destiny as the Avatar and stopped Vaatu?" He trailed off at the end, shaking his head. "No, that doesn't make sense, though. You said yourself that Wan was a regular human – a Firebender, at that. So how did he become the Master of the Four Elements, then?"

Kirku smiled,  _"You are finally asking the questions that you had had no knowledge to ask, Avatar Aang."_

"Raava and Vaatu are important to this, aren't they?" Azula asked rhetorically, "And since the Avatar didn't allow the Great War to continue to molest the world, I would say that the Spirit of Light… became human and thus, the Avatar. Is that right?"

_"You are close, Princess Azula, very close. You are right, though, about Raava, just not about her becoming a human."_

Aang stared at the arrow tattoos on his hands, "Wan was the first Avatar and since Raava- "

Azula's eyes gleamed, "Raava bonded herself with Wan, then!" She concluded, looking quite pleased with herself. "So, after Wan had unleashed Vaatu, that was when Raava and Wan bonded, creating the Avatar?"

Kirku shook his head, _"No, Raava was furious with Wan and attempted to inveigle Vaatu once more, fastening him to her, but it didn't work; Vaatu was gaining power by the second as Darkness itself spread through both Realms. Seeing no other choice, and with her power diminishing because of Vaatu's growing strength, Raava eventually had the Lion Turtles gift Wan with the other elements…"_  Kirku was then interrupted.

"Answer me this, Avatar Kirku: What element did Wan first obtain? It was fire because you said that he had bent fire at Raava, thus untethering Darkness itself, right?" Azula asked with a gleam in her eye.

" _Yes, Princess Azula, it was_ _fire."_  Kirku raised a brow at Azula.

She turned to Aang, a smirk carved into her features, golden eyes burning in the light with delight. "Firebenders truly are superior! Wouldn't that prove it, if nothing else, Aang?"

He rolled his eyes at her conclusion and elected to ignore her question, turning to Kirku. "Continue, please," he gestured.

Kirku eyed Azula in interest but returned to the story.  _"Wan was a Firebender first and foremost, and no human could ever hope to hold more than a single element; the power would consume them, destroying their souls, never to reach the Gardens of the Dead. So, knowing this, Raava joined with Wan briefly so that he could receive each of the elements, and then she would just as quickly leave."_

"Why only briefly?" Aang asked, "I thought that Wan and Raava, when bonded, became the Avatar."

_"If she had prolonged their bond, she would end up killing him."_

"Then how did the Avatar come to exist, then?" He demanded.

His past life had a small smile across his lips,  _"You'll see, I promise, Avatar Aang. So, since Raava was who received the elements, Wan wouldn't die. And when they briefly joined together, he could bend all of the elements."_

"So, he would defeat Vaatu as the Avatar, then," he concluded. "I've wondered about that."

_"You make it sound far easier than it actually was, Avatar Aang,"_

"Why?"

_"You see, Vaatu knew that the only being who could ever contain him, and thus overpower him, was Raava herself. In truth, he was wary of her and the potential downfall that her presence brought him. He knew that there would only be one way to ensure that he could reign over both Realms: the Harmonic Convergence."_

Azula rolled her eyes, "And now would be when you explain to both Aang and me what the Harmonic Convergence actually is, Avatar Kirku. To me, right now, it means absolutely nothing."

Kirku laughed, the sound sudden and almost tranquil.  _"Yes, of course, you are right, Princess Azula."_

"Just as I always am," she smirked.

_"The Harmonic Convergence is a supernatural phenomenon that only occurs every ten-thousand years and the fate of both Realms is determined on that day. During the Harmonic Convergence, the stars themselves all align perfect, and because of this, spiritual energy is vastly amplified to levels you can't even fathom, Princess Azula. Because of the influx of such sums of spiritual energy, the Spirit Portals merge, and all spirits become stronger. Since the beginning of time, when they had created the Realms, Raava and Vaatu battled during the Harmonic Converge, determining the outcome of both Realms for the next ten thousand years."_

Aang closed his eyes as he understood, "Wan must face Vaatu during such a battle, then."

_"Yes, and to show you that the winds of fate are fickle, Wan only had a little over a year to train with the elements, similar to you, Avatar Aang."_

"I empathize with his plight, Avatar Kirku, I truly do," he said. "It's a burden I wish on no one except Ozai himself."

Azula smiled at him, "And I can guarantee you that my father would break under the pressure, unlike you. You are far stronger than my father, always have been."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, "And you are stronger than him, too," he whispered.

"You are such a sweet-talker," she murmured.

Realizing that they were about to journey into potentially deadly territory, he turned back to Kirku. "So, Wan had a year to train with the elements before the Harmonic Convergence arrived."

 _"Yes, Avatar Aang, a little more than a year, and Wan and Raava became friends during that time. And in time, Raava realized that she had been wrong about Wan and that he was a worthy man. But when the Harmonic Convergence was about to begin, Wan faced Vaatu, prepared to accept his destiny, but he was beaten around easily, Vaatu merely toying with the mortal. It wasn't until when Raava briefly bonded herself in Wan's body that damage was dealt to Vaatu, but it wasn't enough, nowhere near enough."_  Kirku's voice was chilling and raspy, ancient as his words painted a story of a man who, even though he had given everything that he had, wasn't strong enough.

"And what happened after?" He leaned forward, dimly realizing that Azula had copied his movement.

" _When the Harmonic Convergence had finally begun, and after having been smacked around by an amused Vaatu, Wan then placed his hand to the untold amount of raw energy pouring out of the merged-Portals. This act changed the course of history, both in the Material Realm and the Spiritual Realm. The energy flooded Wan's body and it changed him, vaulting him towards his position as the most powerful of everyone; it also fully bonded Wan and Raava forever, thus creating the Avatar Spirit. Wan was then able to defeat Vaatu and he imprisoned the malevolent spirit in the Tree of Time, which is the center of the Spirit World, and some even whisper that the Tree of Time was the very first spirit, the Time-Keeper itself. And after the Harmonic Convergence, Avatar Wan convinced the spirits to return to their world, and he closed the two Portals, forever separating humans and spirits."_  Kirku finished.

Aang leaned back in contemplation of everything that Kirku had just said, the words floating in the air, echoing in his hears. For several minutes, nobody spoke a word, each ruminating fiercely, and throughout it all, Avatar Kirku remained ever-present.

After several long moments, he raised his gaze to Kirku's, "So why are you telling us this, Avatar Kirku? When I summoned you, this isn't what I had had in mind, you know?"

Kirku eyes were sorrowful.  _"Vaatu has escaped his prison,"_  the solemn words floated in the air of the home on Ember Island, and Aang almost staggered, needing to brace his hand on the floor. A physical and gruesome revulsion echoed in his heart and he suddenly felt it, the tangible taste of fear in his mouth; he instinctively knew that he had just experienced Avatar Wan's response to the news.

"How?" Azula questioned while Aang was still speechless, incapable of forming any words.

" _Nobody knows,"_ Kirku responded.  _"There is really no acceptable reason for how he escaped that I can think of. It was thought to be impossible."_

Aang overcame his shock. "So, we have learned who I really am, the legend of the Avatar, the identities of Raava and Vaatu, the Lion Turtles, Avatar Wan, energybending, and now, you tell us that Vaatu has escaped." He summed up, "What does this have to do with the scroll? That's the reason I had summoned you!" Aang raised his voice as he spoke.

Kirku sighed,  _"If you wish to know about the scroll, Avatar Aang, know this: bending over the generations has become different. The beliefs of where to draw your chi are not as they used to be. In the Fire Nation, for the past several centuries, you draw from the feelings of anger and hate, but in my time, we drew from our passion and the life that we felt from our own Inner Flame."_

Aang nodded, "Yes, I know, that's how I firebend," he noticed Azula stare at him after his words.

His past life slouched before him, not looking like the great Avatar any longer,  _"I died quite prematurely upon my death, Avatar Aang. You see, Avatar's live for a very long time, sometimes even half a millennium because of the strength of our chi – Avatar Wan himself lived for that long. So, because of this, there has only been around thirty of us to ever exist because the Avatar Spirit has only existed for ten thousand years."_  Kirku paused and his ethereal hands clenched, a foreboding omen. " _I was supposed to live for several more decades, maybe centuries even if the winds of fate were kind. But one day, when a meteor crashed into the ocean near the Northern Water Tribe, causing monstrous tsunamis and earthquakes that threatened to sink the Tribe, I battled it, combating everything at once."_

"And that's what killed you, isn't it?" Azula said softly.

 _"Yes, because while I did defeat the meteor, it defeated me as well."_  Kirku closed his eyes, _"Avatars, when they know that their time of death is near, prepare the world for their passing, and that is the only way the transition will be peaceful. But similar in how your predecessor, Avatar Roku's passing was unexpected, mine was just as much so."_

"There's more to that than at first glance," he observed. "Why?"

Kirku grimaced, looking almost humiliated, and also tired.  _"My situation in the years prior to my death was somewhat similar to what yours is now, Avatar Aang."_

"How so? What do you mean?"

_"About a decade before my death, the Waterbenders were almost wiped out just like the Air Nomads were."_

Aang's eyes widened in shock and dread, "What? Are you serious? So, you understand my situation and my grief!"

" _Somewhat, Avatar Aang, somewhat. You see,_ _Waterbenders in my time lived where the Earth Kingdom is now - Earth and Water lived together. It was not ideal, believe me, but I had never discovered a solution to the problem, which was my fault, thus inadvertently becoming the catalyst for my people's near extinction. For centuries, the Earthbenders and Waterbenders had been conflicted in their beliefs, petty squabbles resulting in multiple wars being declared many times, but each time, I had always put a stop to it. But, eventually, I failed to see how dark the emotions truly were between Water and Earth. I was negligent, Avatar Aang, in preserving the peace and I pray that you do not make the same mistakes that I did."_

"What happened?"

 _"While I was away, helping the Air Nomads build their Air Temples, the Earthbenders attacked my people, trying to destroy them once and for all."_  Kirku sighed tiredly, his water-colored, ethereal eyes closing.  _"Although the resulting conflict was nowhere near the massacre level of the Air Nomads, Avatar Aang, it was devastating, and I felt responsible because I hadn't been there to help my people."_

Aang felt compassion for his past life, and to his shame, relief that someone else understood his guilt and pain. "Just as I wasn't there to help my people," he said softly, dimly noticing that Azula had inched closer to him in hopes of offering small amounts of comfort.

She placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, staring at Kirku, "And the Waterbenders had no chance without you there, in all honesty, because the Earthbenders were surrounded by their element." Azula then frowned, "So, that was when the Waterbenders moved to the Poles, right? After their near-genocide?"

Kirku nodded, _"Yes, but only to the North Pole. It wasn't until far after my reign as Avatar when the Southern Water Tribe rose to power."_  He looked directly at Aang.  _"Because of me, there weren't many Waterbenders left in the world and no Masters, at that – they had all been killed in the 'battle' with the Earthbenders. So, in hopes of rectifying my mistakes, I convinced the Ocean and the Moon Spirits to forfeit their immortality and join the Mortal Realm to help the Waterbenders rebuild. It was bitter work, but my efforts paid off for on the Winter Solstice, they joined the Mortal Realm, immortality forever out of their grasp. They joined the North and gifted many with waterbending who had the correct mindset, and the children who were soon born were also Waterbenders, blessed by the Ocean and Moon. I sired many children with multiple women, trying to help as best as I could with my blood, but I was the only true Master remaining. I trained everyone, my own children, as best as I could, but the meteor soon arrived. A decade was nowhere near enough time."_

"And you didn't have enough time to help your people rebuild," Azula concluded almost sadly.

" _Yes, and without someone to teach them the true ways, the Waterbenders at the North chose to learn on their own, and because of this, some of the true teachings have been lost. Eventually, as I mentioned earlier, far after my death, a group went to the South to make their own city."_ Kirku closed his eyes. _"After my death, much knowledge to the bending arts have been lost. I wasn't there to make sure people stayed true to their teachings because I hadn't prepared them for my death. The bending arts became corrupt."_  His past life stared at him,  _"For example, Avatar Aang, I once stumbled upon an Airbender who had become one with the wind. As far as I know, he is the only mortal who mastered it, although he had claimed that he would teach every Airbender the art – personally, I didn't believe that he would, and if what I've gathered is true, he never did as he claimed that he would. His name was Laghima and he revealed that the Air Spirit had visited his dreams, divulging the very secret to weightlessness. Because I was the Avatar, he revealed the secret to me and once I saw through my misconceptions, I became the only Avatar to have ever mastered it; I am the one whose power you used during Ba Sing Se."_

Aang looked to him, "So, the unnamed Airbender wasn't the first to achieve weightlessness, then! So you had this scroll made? Was it you, or maybe this Laghima?" He then held it up for Kirku to see.

" _No, I did not construct it, Avatar Aang. I can only assume that Laghima did, but if that is true, it is over eight thousand years old, so I do not know how you acquired that scroll, but I can tell you that it is doable – you can learn it. It's real. All of it, it's real,"_ Kirku sounded desperate.

Aang nodded, "I believe you, but since you know the truth to weightlessness, I need you to teach me."

_"I cannot do that, Avatar Aang,"_

"Why not?" He demanded, "I only need to summon- "

_"It would be pointless because you already are in possession of the knowledge on how to master it, Avatar Aang. Only you can unearth that which are misconceptions in your heart, soul, and mind. It is something that only you can do for yourself. It isn't something that I can… teach you. You must discover it on your own."_

Azula then spoke up as Aang was too shell-shocked by Kirku's words, "What do we need to do?"

Kirku sighed,  _"I do not know. Vaatu has escaped from the Tree of Time by means unknown and a reckoning is coming, one that you must be ready to face, Avatar Aang."_  Roku and Pathik's warnings were beginning to come together in a nightmarish puzzle, and Aang's eyes were open; he began to see, and what he saw were the outlines of something sinister. Kirku then gave him one last word of advice,  _"I know that you are angry with your friends, but you will need their help for this. Do not let your bitterness get the better of you."_  He then suddenly dispersed and drifted back into Aang's body.

For several moments, both Aang and Azula stared at the spot where Kirku had just been, the ethereal being's words still floating in the air.

"That's a lot to process," he eventually said, trailing off as he laughed in disbelief.

Azula nodded and fully turned towards him, "It is quite invigorating to know all of that history while the rest of the world remains ignorant of the truth."

"Oh, believe me, I agree. It's how it feels in the Avatar State but then, it's even more… intoxicating, if I'm being honest." He saw her golden eyes widen and something like that almost like excitement was carved into her features. Before she could say anything, though, he stood up. "I will need to warn the others, I suppose. It wouldn't bode well if I didn't, I must say."

Azula's features smoothed and she then looked outside, "Not yet, Aang, you should take a break. It's been hours since you left this room; I don't know how you do it, I really don't." She smirked and stood up, staring up into his gray eyes. "Come on, Avatar, let's go destroy some more of these feeble mortals in a game of volleyball."

"I don't know, Azula,"

"Aang, worry about the world tomorrow, okay?" Azula's eyes were beckoning and he found himself unable to resist her, a dangerous possibility but he honestly didn't care. He was able to admit that he was attracted to her, but nothing would ever come of it, though. He would make sure that it wouldn't. And although knowing that he shouldn't, he decided to go destroy some people in volleyball.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Storming into his meditation like an angry Earthbender, Azula's features had lost the softness that they had had the previous day when they had both spoken with Avatar Kirku. Instead, her golden eyes burned with rage, and he wasn't certain if that anger was directed at him or someone else. And the most disconcerting item in regard to her appearance: a giant, beautiful Warhawk sat on her shoulder, animal eyes connecting with Aang's own.

His eyes widened, "What is that?" He questioned incredulously, sighing in regret once the words passed his lips. He knew what the bird was, but he had been so surprised that his response to such an occurrence was instinctive.

Azula raised a brow, "It's from my brother," her voice was flat, and Aang winced as her eyes began to assess him critically. She was very angry, no doubt because of what the message that Zuko had written entailed, but he felt the beginnings of trepidation simmer in his mind. Whatever news Zuko had, it must be bad to inflict such an expression on Azula's face.

Slowly standing up from his Lotus Position, he stepped closer to Azula's tense form and gently took the scroll from her hand, his fingers crinkling around the parchment, and stared down at its words. His eyes grew larger the further he read:

_Azula,_

_I do hope that this letter finds you in good spirits and that the house isn't depressing you too much, but I'm afraid that if the house somehow hadn't been depressing you, my next words will. Our father has escaped from his prison with the aid of, as the guards have claimed, a dark presence. We know how, but the details are very disturbing. He escaped a little over two months ago, and I had stubbornly, mistakenly believed that I could handle it, but I can admit that I was wrong – I made a mistake, Azula. I have written the Avatar countless messages but each time, I have received no response. Nobody knows where he is, and I've even thought him to be dead, but the Fire Sages have thankfully assured me that the Avatar hadn't died. Mother and uncle are here, and they are as concerned as I am by these drastic and dreadful turn of events._

_I have grown truly desperate, I will be honest with you. The Gaang, the group of peasants – the merry crew of misfits, if you will – whom you battled during the Great War several times have arrived at the Caldera after I requested their aid. And as I had suspected, they know nothing and have been no help. I've tried to leave you in peace, but I can do so no longer, Azula. I am ordering you, as your older brother and your Fire Lord, to return to the Caldera with the utmost of haste. I would like nothing more than to let you live out the remainder of your life in our house on Ember Island, but I can't. I've hit my limit, I truly have. Please come to the Caldera, I'm begging you – yes, begging you. Now you surely understand how frantic I have become. I haven't known how to go about this because the only person who could truly understand what is going on has disappeared._

_I need you here, and I swear on my honor that Kuei will receive no words about your arrival from any of those who are loyal to me, and thus you. If he does somehow get wind of your residence, whether on Ember Island or in the Caldera, I will go to war, I don't care. I'm furious and he has insulted me one too many times. Please reply to this letter so that I can know that our father hasn't gotten to you again. Be careful, sister. I don't know what I would do if I was ever notified of your passing._

_Your brother, Fire Lord Zuko._

Aang looked away from the words after reading through it several times. He had known a few weeks ago that he had been at Ember Island for too long at a time, but if he was honest with himself, he hadn't cared; he had needed the vacation and in hindsight, he did feel a lot better.

He had decided to indulge in his selfishness for a few months and had hoped that the world could handle his small absence, but apparently, he had been wrong – the Avatar is always needed somewhere, no matter how petty the problem.

He did feel incredibly bad, though. He had had no idea that Zuko was pulling his hair out in frustration or that his friend had been attempting to create contact with him for months. Aang then looked at Azula, "I guess that this is the end of our  _vacation_ ," he said, not even attempting to smother the sadness from coloring his words.

Azula smirked up at him instead, "No, it's not, Aang," she said confidently. "I'm going with you."

He inhaled sharply and frowned down at her, "You are wanted by the entire Earth Kingdom for execution. You'll be killed the second when someone recognizes you."

"Not with you around, Avatar," she purred, golden eyes gleaming like melted gold under the light of Agni's rays. He suddenly realized that she had put a considerable amount of thought into her decision, probably having used the time after she had first read the letter.

In spite of the truth in her words, Aang shook his head. "No, you should stay here. Your brother has been messaging me for the past months and I had had no idea. Although he declared that he would go to war over you, no doubt a boost to your ego- "

She smiled, "Oh, it is, believe me,"

"- Zuko won't be thinking that way when both the Water Tribes and all of the Earth Kingdom is breathing down his neck, trust me, okay?"

"Because he had stupidly dismantled most of the military instead of following your advice."

He slowly nodded his head, finally thinking that he had begun to convince her. "Azula, listen to me, it's me your brother truly needs there, not you," he said adamantly.

Azula laughed and the sound echoed in the air, and Aang had to admit that the sound was more than pleasant. "Don't be so arrogant, Avatar. I will be just as much help as you," she became serious, "After all, I spoke with Avatar Kirku as well and might remember things that you do not. Who else do you think that this dark presence is whom the guards claimed had whisked my father away from his prison." Her golden eyes connected almost intimately with his own as she stared up at him. "Vaatu, Aang, it's Vaatu. Remember what Avatar Kirku said? Vaatu has recently escaped his prison in the Tree of Time, so I would bet all of the gold and treasure in the Royal coffers and my brother's own personal coffers that I'm right and it's Vaatu who is the dark presence. And this is my father we're talking about, too, remember? If Zuzu hasn't found any leads in two months, then he will need all the help that he can get. Plus, my brother, the Fire Lord, implicitly ordered me to return to the Caldera. Are you willing to disobey the Fire Lord, Avatar?"

Aang almost felt insulted by her question, "Yes, I am, of course, I am." He saw that she looked greatly pleased by his answer for some reason. "The Avatar is loyal to no ruler or nation, even though we will usually claim permanent residence in the land of our birth. We are above such trivial subjects as a King or Fire Lord. Just ask Avatar Roku. The only reason that Fire Lord Sozin ever succeeded was that my predecessor's sentiment towards his childhood best friend blinded him. Just the simple presence of Avatar Roku negated all of Sozin's plans for decades."

She smiled, "Well, I'd say that if anyone can negate the threat of the Earth Kingdom, it's you, Aang. Just do what Roku did. So, when do you want to leave?"

Aang stared at her in complete bemusement. How did she fail to see the threat that her life was in? "I don't understand," he said after a moment. "Why? You could stay on Ember Island for the rest of your days and eat all of the Komodo Chicken that you could ever want. Why do you so desperately want to go with me?"

"I'd like to help put my father back in prison or kill him. I have made many mistakes, Aang, too many, and I want to do something good. I want to redeem myself just as Zuzu did. Can't you understand that?"

Aang slouched, feeling his Earthbender-like stubbornness ebb away at the sight of her almost-hypnotic eyes. "Very well," he conceded, "but you will not attempt to harm any of the Gaang, got it? You will be a tremendous help, and although I am beyond furious with them, I will need their help; Kirku said as much." He sighed aloud, and ran a hand through his hair, "So, I guess that we're both leaving Ember Island, then."

Azula smirked up at him in victory, "Like there would be any other outcome."

XxXxXxXxXxX

Looking over the side of the saddle to view the world below was intoxicating, Azula had to admit. She had always viewed herself as above the rest of the world because of her beauty, strength, firebending, and wit, but now, she truly was above them – like a goddess looking over the mortals, like the Avatar himself.

Aang was sitting on the Sky Bison, Appa's head, looking completely at ease, looking a part of the wind as the scroll mentioned that he should be able to master. Shivers, in spite of her best efforts, wracked her frame and she breathed small puffs of her fire every few moments to warm herself up. "Aren't you cold?" She growled, her voice carrying towards her companion's ears.

He turned around and effortlessly leaped into the saddle, landing soundlessly in a sitting position, smiling at her in amusement. "Not one bit. I can't remember the last time I truly ever felt cold, not even when I was trapped for a century in the Iceberg. Waterbenders have some resistance to the cold, and plus, I'm an Airbender, so I am used to it." He shrugged. "Appa here doesn't ever feel the cold just like me, I think. Not even at the Northern or Southern Water Tribes. His fur is too warm and thick."

"A wise trait to have," she pointed out, staring at Appa. She remembered her actions towards the animal all of those years ago and one day, she had approached the Sky Bison, feeling quite foolish, and apologized at Aang's behest.

She hadn't dared disobey, especially when his gray eyes had roiled like mighty storm clouds. She had felt guilty, though, especially when Appa had roared, the air around him exploding off him in waves, rushing at Azula in a violent and potentially deadly attack.

Thankfully, Aang had simply stepped in front of her, the air becoming harmless in his presence, or else, she knew that she would have been seriously injured. Aang had then hugged his best friend, the sight too intimate for her eyes, but she hadn't been able to look away. The Avatar had coaxed his friend to listen to her words, and he had motioned her forward.

Azula had slowly and warily stepped towards the massive Sky Bison, memories of her shooting fire blasts at him ever-present in her mind. She had been a hair's breadth away from the enormous, tough horns that, if she remembered correctly from her studies, could pierce through a Dragon's hide, the only breed of animal in the history of the world that could do so. It was rumored that Fire Lord Sozin had hunted the Air Nomads for that reason, too.

" _I wasn't a good person,"_ she had stared into Appa's intelligent eyes.  _"I enjoyed imposing my strength over others, and I'm sorry, Appa, I truly am."_  She had swallowed, feeling Aang's gaze on her, but she needed to finish, needed to finally release a truth.  _"I am desperate for a new beginning, one where I'm not haunted by my crimes and deeds, but one where I'm at peace."_  Her eyes had, to her shame, welled with several tears.  _"I know that you don't like me, and I can't blame you for that, I truly can't because if the roles were reversed, I probably would have already killed you. You are far more generous than I, so I thank you, Appa."_

The Sky Bison had then, in a blurred motion, loomed over her, floating several meters above the stone, mouth extended right towards the tip of her head.

" _Appa,"_ Aang had then warned, his voice clear and strong, echoing through the courtyard of the home on Ember Island.  _"Think, my friend, please. Because whatever it is you're thinking, you need to rethink it."_

" _And what's he thinking, then?"_  She had asked, staring up at Appa, poise echoing in her words.

She had been able to hear Aang's sigh,  _"He's thinking of eating you,"_

" _I thought that he was a vegetarian, too, just as you are,"_  she had grit out through clenched teeth, now extremely wary of Appa.

" _He is, but he's angry,"_  Aang had then moved out of her line-of-sight, and the brief thought that he was going to allow his best friend to swallow her whole had echoed in her mind, but she had shaken it off, knowing that it was preposterous.  _"Whatever happens, Azula, don't firebend, okay? You mustn't firebend."_

" _Why?"_

" _You're about to find out,"_  his words must have been a signal because once the last word had been spoken, Appa's open jaw had then clamped around her upper body, her eyes slamming shut as true terror spread through her mind as she prepared for the Gardens of the Dead, hoping that her grandfather awaited her and was proud of her, but that was when she had realized that there was no pain splintering through her mind and body. Slowly, she had opened her eyes, and she had noticed that Appa's mouth was quite large, but filled with saliva that, she then noticed, was drizzled all over her face. For several moments, she had stayed inside Appa's unthreatening mouth, his large tongue smearing all over her body and face. His large teeth were very near, but they didn't indicate that they would tear her body in half.

Then, after several more moments, Appa had practically spit her back out, forcing her to fall to her knees in a heap of saliva and ruined clothes. Instead of becoming angry, though, Azula had slowly stood to her feet, Aang's gaze on her back, and approached Appa again.  _"Thank you, for your mercy, Appa. You needn't worry about Aang, I won't harm him, all right? I consider him a friend and I care about him."_

Appa's intelligent eyes had then narrowed and then he huffed, the air whooshing wildly as he plopped back down on his belly to rest. Aang had then appeared next to her in a blink of an eye, petting Appa's forehead, directly over the arrow.  _"He's forgiven you,"_  he had said.  _"Now, you must earn his trust, though."_

Azula intended to earn Appa's trust no matter what it took, if only for Aang.

"It's nice up here, I must admit, Aang," she suddenly said, watching as the Avatar looked delighted by her words. "I understand the appeal, being up in the sky with no one to bother you or press burdens on your shoulders. This lifestyle is different than the one I experienced at the palace."

He smiled, "It's freeing, Azula, and it's why the Air Nomads lived in isolation. They never cared what the other nations thought of them, and they didn't care about such trivial things like everyone else."

"They were just only concerned with themselves, though, right?" She finished, watching as his smile faded. "It's the truth, isn't it? The Air Nomads had no connections with the other nations, and ultimately, it was their own fault."

"Yes, it was," he nodded his head. "You're right, but hopefully, once I decipher this puzzle," he waved the airbending scroll at her, "then I'll be able to begin to work on rebuilding my people – and, of course, after we put your father and Vaatu back in their prisons."

"And by rebuilding, you mean repopulating, don't you?" She inquired with a raised brow. "Surely there have been offers by many women."

She felt relief that distaste flashed across his features at her last words. "Yes, that is what I mean, Azula. Avatar Kirku's words about his own failure with the Water Tribes have been echoing in my ears ever since. Who knows how long I'll live? No one except the winds of fate, and although I have the potential to live a long time, it's only potential, not reality."

"How will you repopulate, then?" She asked after several moments, understanding his reasoning behind such a decision. The Air Nomads, specifically the Airbenders, had to return to the world. His own feelings – and Azula's strange emotions concerning the topic, at that – didn't matter.

Aang looked down at his hands, "I don't know that part, Azula, I don't. I want to marry someone who would be good for me and my future children, but I don't know. I need airbending children, and since I'm the Avatar, I can sire children who bend any of the elements, not just air. The Sages of all nations have continually, annoyingly suggesting that I must bed every non-bending fertile woman in the world, regardless if they are already married." She wasn't surprised by the thought, by she found the idea of Aang doing such a thing… wrong, and she also felt small sparks of envy in her heart that she refused to dwell on. "I find the idea deplorable, but now that I'm older, a very man myself, I can understand such an action."

"Sozin slaughtered an entire nation down to a single person, and that person is the Avatar, who isn't just an Airbender, but a Waterbender, Earthbender, and a Firebender," she said quietly, and for the first time, she truly began to realize how detestable her great-grandfather's actions were. Because of Sozin, a century and more has passed with no Airbenders save the Avatar. "It's a sound strategy, Aang, albeit a quite difficult path, I must say."

"And yet, I must do it if I find no wife who is willing to bear me an entire nation. And even then, I don't know if that will be enough. I might need to pull an Avatar Kuruk and sire hundreds of bastards with many different women, no matter their nation, spreading my Air-blessed seed across the Four Nations!"

Looking at his forlorn and almost heart-broken expression, Azula then began to envision a future where she herself was that wife. After all, she owed him a debt, an unpayable one in all honesty. If she bore Airbenders by him, her debt would be resolved for she would be giving him the greatest gift that he could ever wish for – the return of Airbenders to the world, the true Air Nomads. The thought, she had to admit in realization, had a lot of perks and merits for her. Aang was the only person in the entire world, besides maybe her brother, who she implicitly trusted, and she had always yearned, if she ever did marry, to be forever joined with one whom she trusted.

Plus, she instinctively realized that she would enjoy it; the Avatar was an incredibly handsome man, a god amongst frail mortals, the most attractive man she'd ever laid eyes on. She knew that she had inherited her father's ambition, his attraction to power – rumor had it, that her father had fallen in love with her mother after she had bested him, the second son of the Fire Lord, in a firebending duel. Some days, Azula had observed the Avatar as he simply meditated by the ocean at night, the way how the water would swirl around his sitting form without touching him, respecting his strength. Then, when he would 'fool around', as he put it, Azula had glimpsed his subtle supremacy, when all of the elements responded to him at once, circling around his body in a display of absolute power.

It had been an arousing sight, indeed.

She had always known, growing up during her childhood, that she would be married off to strengthen the Fire Royal Family, and that she wouldn't have a choice, only following her father's orders. But now, she suddenly realized that she wouldn't mind being married to the Avatar himself, the most powerful being in the entire world, and she also wouldn't mind bearing him airbending children instead of Firebenders.

She had become quite soft, indeed, but it wasn't something that she despised, actually. It was a relief to shy further and further away from that girl she had once been, and none of the great leaps of progress that she had undertaken would have been possible without Aang.

During her thoughts, Aang had opened the airbending scroll and he suddenly sighed heavily, forcing Azula's eyes to connect to his own. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong," he looked down at the scroll, fingers curling around the parchment, the crinkling sound a foreboding omen.

To take her mind off of the trail of thought that it had wandered, she pondered the scroll, "It says to let go of your misconceptions, correct?"

"Yes, that's what it says. Why?"

Azula pointed toward the scroll held tightly in his hand, "What if you have misconceptions that you are unaware of?" She raised a brow.

"But how do I know what is labeled as a misconception and what isn't, then?" He exclaimed, his voice rising at the end.

She honestly had no idea and was about to suggest that he should summon Avatar Kirku forward again to ask him, but Appa bellowed, the sound exploding the air around them.

Azula looked over the side of the saddle, "We've finally arrived at the Caldera, Aang," she called out, watching as her companion hopped back on Appa's head, scroll nowhere to be seen.

Through Aang's guidance, Appa landed in the palace's courtyard, to where her brother was waiting, and when he caught sight of her, his jaw dropped.

She calmly hopped off Appa and while walking towards her brother, smiled innocently. "Hello, Zuzu, can you guess who I found?"

Aang sheepishly came to stand next to her, Appa looming over them all as Momo chirped, and she dimly noticed that he was taller than her brother. "Sorry that I never got any of your messages, Zuko. I was on a vacation."

Zuko closed his eyes, inhaling slowly, "At my… own house?" He asked quietly, "That's where you've been? The entire fucking time while I've been going insane?" True anger colored his tone and Azula was slightly impressed.

The Avatar shrugged, not looking the least bit remorseful, the sight making Azula's respect and admiration for him deepen. "Yeah, it was nice – I needed it, I truly did – and when I had arrived, I ran into your sister of all people."

Zuko's face was pinched in fury, "I've been messaging you for months, Aang! What the fuck? I would have appreciated a letter declaring that you were taking a little vacation- "

"A much-needed vacation," Aang calmly interrupted, laughter barely contained by Azula.

"- at my house! I've been tearing out my hair in frustration." Her brother leaned forward, lowering his voice, his fury not abating in the slightest. "I had to call the Gaang because you weren't answering," he hissed through grit teeth, golden eyes burning much like their father's always had.

Aang's eyes closed and Azula remembered Avatar Kirku's final words, "We would need them anyway Zuko to face this new threat." He said solemnly.

Her brother's face registered many surprises, angry rapidly fading away as opened his mouth, but just as he was about to speak, the water peasants came into the courtyard.

"Aang, holy shit, man, you've grown – and Appa has, too! And is that hair I see covering that arrow-head of yours?" Azula knew that this was the male peasant; she could tell because he still had that annoying, grating voice that he had possessed when she had been hunting them all. She noticed Suki, her once-prisoner, next to him and felt a mixture of guilt and satisfaction when the woman wouldn't even look in her direction, having obviously deduced who she was. The male peasant came and stood next to Zuko and looked at her curiously, "I don't believe that we've met, but something about feels familiar. I'd like to think that I'd remember such a beautiful woman. Do I know you?" He asked innocently, eyebrows raised.

Azula narrowed her eyes in disbelief; she had literally chased them around the world and he didn't even recognize her. She felt insulted, offended by his lack of memory; she was memorable, and she would remind him of that fact. Raising her hand in greeting, it became alight with her sapphire flames, "Hello."

The male peasant's reaction was comical, "Azula!" He screeched like a wounded animal and stumbled away from her, tripping over Suki.

Aang's laughter was a pleasant sound, "You really didn't recognize her? That's quite sad, in all honesty. I knew that it was her the moment when I saw her eyes."

Azula felt a fierce pleasure that the Avatar could recognize her just by seeing her eyes but refused to dwell on why. She also smirked at the small insult that he had thrown at his former friend.

"You were with Lightning Psycho, Twinkletoes? Are you serious?" The Earthbender's incredulous voice cut through the room. "And here I had thought that you were in the Spirit World, but nope! You were consorting with the enemy!"

While she was impressed that the girl had the courage to call her 'Lightning Psycho', she felt the temperature drop as Aang turned towards her, gray eyes unfriendly. "Hello, Toph," he then gestured to Azula, stepping closer. "It was pure happenstance when we ran into each other on Ember Island, and Azula is not the enemy, you would do well to remember that."

An awkward silence enveloped the courtyard as Toph seemed taken aback by Aang's words, but just as Azula suspected, she shrugged and stomped closer, unseeing eyes assessing Azula. She herself raised an eyebrow at the Earthbender, watching as the blind woman scrunched her features. Toph seemed to observe her for several moments, and then, without a show of hesitation, she swiftly punched Azula on the shoulder.

Zuzu's golden eyes filled with dread, but he needn't worry about her responding with a blue fire blast to the woman's face. Aang had warned her when they had left Ember Island that the blind Earthbender found a source of joy when punching people, so he had recommended being prepared for a hard and bone-bruising punch to her arm.

Azula smiled at the sight of the male peasant hiding behind Suki, but her smile faded when she glimpsed the other peasant, the girl who had defeated her on Sozin's Comet during her break from reality.

Katara, her name was.

The female peasant stood next to Toph and seemed to stay away from Zuzu, eyes fearfully glancing in his direction every few moments. Azula's eyes narrowed at the sight, realizing that something must have happened between the two of them.

"Azula," the female peasant said flatly, crossing her arms over her breasts.

While she would admit that the temptation to call her 'peasant' was strong, she wouldn't break the fragile peace that had been established. And while she could claim to be many things, she was not stupid.

"Katara," she intoned just as flatly.

The female peasant's face registered surprise but her features smoothed out quickly, and instead of saying anything further to Azula, the peasant turned to Aang and smiled hesitantly. "Hi, Aang," she said softly.

Seeing the tense posture that the Avatar had erected, she truly hoped that he would enter the Avatar State like he had said he might –  _'maybe flash the Avatar State at them,'_  – but she knew that he, unfortunately, wouldn't.

For now.

Instead, he smiled, but she noticed that it was as fake a smile that she had ever seen. "Hello, Katara, it's nice to see you." While his voice was infused with joy and happiness at seeing a 'friend', Azula noticed that his gray eyes were stormy.

Looking immensely relieved, the female peasant's arms dropped to her sides in euphoria. "It's so good to see you!" Before Azula could even react, the female peasant surged forward and wrapped her arms around the Avatar.

Azula frowned, feeling her hands clench into fists, sparks of blue flame begging to be unleashed. She wasn't sure why the picture of the female peasant hugging the Avatar so fiercely unsettled her deeply, but when she noticed that Aang stiffened, eyes as hard as metal, all her anxiety, for some reason, faded away, swiftly to be replaced by admiration - the Avatar could look very intimidating if he wanted to.

The female peasant pulled back after several moments and Azula saw that her brother gestured to the palace, "How about we discuss the escape of my father, and then afterward, we can all eat a good meal? Does that sound good?"

Aang almost seemed to bristle at her brother's suggestion, "Appa and Momo are coming with us,"

"You're not serious, right?" Zuzu leaned forward, eyes darting from the doorway towards Appa's large size. "He won't even fit!"

Azula smiled as Aang didn't even bat an eye, "I'll make him fit. He's coming with, or you can have the food served out here. I'm not leaving him alone – and Momo, neither."

Her brother didn't look particularly displeased by the suggestion, more amused than anything. "Very well, but it's up to you, Aang, to entertain him."

"Believe me, he and Momo will be fine." Aang started walking forward, Appa trailing right behind him, "Come on, everyone," he then motioned with his hands and the doorways stretched, the metal bending to create a large entrance.

She saw Toph's jaw drop, "I didn't know that you could metalbend! I never taught you!"

Aang didn't turn around when he answered, "I learned it based on my memories of your movements and your words, and plus, I've learned a lot since the Great War ended."

The Earthbender looked stunned and the female peasant swiftly stepped after the Avatar, "What else did you learn, Aang? And by the way, congratulations on mastering metalbending."

Azula and the others journeyed through the new entryway, listening to Aang's answer. "I have mastered all of the elements, a true Master, a fully-realized Avatar," Azula remembered when she had taught him lightning generation on Ember Island, how the Avatar had mastered it so quickly that Azula had been envious, but it had dissolved after Aang's boyish enthusiasm after becoming a true Master of Fire was apparent. "Because I was alone in my travels after the Great War, I had a lot of time, an excess of it. I honed my skills, practicing and practicing until my bones began to splinter. Eventually, I mastered them all up to the level that I had in airbending. And, on top of that, I learned how to heal and," he trailed off, darting a look at the female peasant's shocked expression and seemed to change his mind. "So, I learned healing, metalbending, sandbending, and recently, thanks to Azula, lighting generation."

Gasps echoed as Azula noticed her brother's eyes widen, "You know the cold-blooded fire?" He asked in astonishment.

Before Aang could answer, the female peasant broke in, looking so betrayed that Azula almost laughed aloud. "Aang, why would you… do that?" The question was heavy with implications as the female peasant shot poisonous glares at her, probably believing her to be concocting some monstrous plan to kill them all.

"Yes, I know lightning generation, Zuko, and I learned it because it's a useful ability, Katara." Azula nodded in agreement, knowing how useful lightning was when wielded properly and to its fullest potential.

The male peasant finally spoke, "Well, it is quite terrifying, so who else should know it besides the Avatar?" She risked a glance at her brother, knowing that if anyone besides the Avatar if anyone should know lightning generation, it would be the Fire Lord.

As they all, as a group, along with Appa and Momo, made their way to the dining hall, it was an intense realization when Azula realized that she hated walking these halls. The memories were lurking like ugly beasts, the feeling of her lungs being devoid of air ever-present. She felt constricted and she could almost feel her father looming over as he had always done, commanding perfection or else. Long ago, before her mind had broken, and before her subsequent recovery, she had never thought that she would ever wish to be away from the palace, but now, as she walked through the halls, she wanted nothing more than to leave.

"My liege," the guards bowed to her brother, looking strangely at Appa, and when they noticed her, their eyes bulged from their sockets, their bodies automatically falling into a firebending stance, but when her brother growled lowly, they masked their fear and looked at her warily.

In reply, she smirked at them, feeling relief that she hadn't become too soft.

"Have the staff bring out a meal." Zuzu then commanded, diffusing the tense atmosphere.

They walked into the room and were met with the sight of her uncle and mother. Zuzu's words from those months ago echoed in her ears,  _'_ _When you see mother again, you might just be relieved that she's okay.'_  And she found that he was right, the sight of her mother was a relief and she smiled at her softly, nodding her head in greeting.

Her mother smiled brilliantly, but instead of making a scene, she nodded her head in greeting, as well.

"Avatar Aang," her uncle stood up, looking surprisingly well. "It is such a relief to see you," he pulled Aang into a hug, and she noticed that he wasn't as fat as he had used to be, and she felt disappointed that she couldn't call him 'Uncle Fatso' any longer.

"And it is good to see you again, General Iroh," the Avatar smiled genuinely at her uncle.

Then, everyone took their place at the table and Azula found herself trapped between Zuzu and their mother while Aang was squished between Toph and the female peasant, Appa plopped on the ground behind him, Momo curled around the Sky Bison's horn. His interactions with everyone, specifically the peasants, the Earthbender, and Suki, seemed calm and even jubilant, but Azula knew better. It was only the calm before the devastating storm.

"So, Aang, even though you read the letter that I sent to my sister, I presume, I think that it bears repeating. About a little over two months ago, my father escaped from his prison with help from, what the guards declared, a dark presence…" Azula drowned out Zuzu's voice; he could be so boring sometimes, and that was why, once upon a time, he and Mai had been so amusing to watch.

"It's definitely spiritual, that's for certain." Aang suddenly said, confidently.

Her uncle nodded, "Yes, Avatar Aang, that is what my nephew and I have also concluded."

Her mother spoke, "What kind of spirit, though? It has to be very powerful to cross into the Mortal Plane."

Everyone looked to Aang and he sighed, "There are only two spirits who have the power to do something like this and who would actually dare to do it." He breathed deeply and didn't speak.

He stood up and walked to where Appa was, leaping onto the Sky Bison's saddle and when he jumped back off only seconds later, his sack was in his hand. He quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a brush and sat back down, leaning over. He was writing something on the paper and Azula had a pretty good guess of what he was writing.

She was right.

Aang flipped over the paper and showed them what he wrote.  _'D_ _o not say these names aloud! Names have power. I believe that this is either the work of Koh, the Face Stealer or Vaatu, the Spirit of Chaos and Darkness. Call Koh face and call Vaatu dark. Do not call them by their real names.'_  Azula wondered why he mentioned something like this now. For days, they had been calling the name of Vaatu aloud. Why begin now?

Azula looked to Toph who was frowning, "What does the paper say? What did you write, Twinkletoes?" The blind girl demanded.

He then turned to the Earthbender and Azula noticed that his lips were pursed in thought. He soon grinned and stepped closer. "Do you trust me?" He questioned, eyes serious.

"Yes, Twinkletoes! Just tell me, already," Toph growled,

Aang's hands snared Toph's shoulders, "Stay still," he ordered, thumbs placed on her solar plexus and forehead. Azula leaned forward, wondering what the Avatar was doing, but based on the looks of realization on the peasants' faces, she was one of the only ones.

Toph had her eyes closed before snapping them open, "Huh, that actually makes sense. Face and Dark, then, will lose to me in battle as we put the Loser Lord back in his cell."

Aang turned back towards everyone, laughing aloud once he noticed Azula's expressions, "I used energybending to give the knowledge of the names to Toph."

"I wasn't aware that you could do that," she commented after a moment, wondering what exactly energybending could do.

The female peasant glared at her, "Of course, you wouldn't know that he could do that. You nothing about Aang,"

Azula's lips parted slightly as she registered the words and her golden eyes narrowed to slits. "I happen to know the Avatar more than you do, so don't subject me to your disdain, fool."

"Hey, you don't get to talk to her like that!" The male peasant's face had turned red and his eyes were glinting with scorn. "In fact, why the fuck is she even here?" Azula felt her mother tense by her side at the words and felt comforted by the fact that she would defend her. "Aang has finally returned, so why is your sister here, Zuko? We don't need her! In fact, we don't even fucking want her."

"She's probably here to gain insight into our plan, so then she can warn her father," the female peasant's eyes were filled with triumph and Azula had to narrowly refrain from shooting lightning at her. "Once a monster, always a monster. She's still the same – nothing has changed!"

Zuzu's fist clenched near the firewhiskey, "How dare you? No matter what she has done, my sister is a Princess of the Fire Royal Bloodline. I'm giving her a chance, and so should you. I have more reasons to distrust her than you both!"

"An insane Princess, Zuko, or did you forget?" The female peasant snapped, the water in her chalice swirling. "You're only giving her a chance out of familial duty! Don't you dare try to compare your pain with our own- "

"That's ENOUGH!" Aang's hand smashed onto the table, breaking the entire thing as his expression, although Azula would never admit it, made her feel anxious, almost condemned. The Avatar slowly looked at everyone, leaving no one absent, even her mother. "Azula is here because I wish her to be, and if any of you have a problem, you can, as Toph has said in the past, go sulk to yourself. I trust her- "

"Aang, how could you say that?" The female peasant interrupted, and Azula leaned forward, ignoring Zuzu's burning eyes and her mother's tightened fists, wanting to see what the Avatar would do. "She shot you with lightning!"

"I forgave her for the lightning strike a long time ago, Katara, and in case you forgot, she taught me lightning generation. It isn't a vile ability," the Avatar's eyes were hard, chilled with arctic ice. "I trust her because she has had many opportunities to kill me if she had wished and hasn't even made an attempt. I trust her because she understands me, and the fact that we share a connection, her and I, has re-solidified that trust." Aang leaned forward, jaw clenched so tightly that Azula was slightly concerned that his jaw bone would grind into dust. "Now, this meal wasn't so that you both could blame Azula for everything that has happened. It was so that we can all come to a common conclusion, and so that I could share several things with you all. That was it, and that's all I want to talk about. If I hear another word about how Azula is the culprit or how she is evil, I will unleash memories of untold horrors to you both. Do not test me because these memories would make the Mother of Horrors turn away in terror." Suddenly, the Avatar's eyes and tattoos glowed, whispers of ancient power hovering in the air.  **"This is the last I want to hear of it!"**

Zuzu recovered remarkably quickly and took over after the stunned silence that had ensued, Azula particularly delighted in the sight of the pale, whitened faces of the peasants. "So, either  _Face_  or  _Dark_ did this, right?"

Aang nodded, finally sitting down, not looking at all apologetic for his actions towards his former friends. "That's my suspicion, Zuko,"

Her uncle frowned, "We've all heard of  _Face,_ but how come we've never heard of this  _Dark_  before?"

Azula saw her mother and Toph nod in agreement, the peasants looking too fearful to bring attention to themselves. She decided to have some fun and spoke, knowing that if either of the peasants tried to blame her because of her knowledge, Aang would unleash the horror of, what she suspected to be the memories of the Air Nomads' slaughter. " _Dark_  is a name that has been lost to the ages. He has been imprisoned for ten thousand years," she said confidently, unable to keep a few chuckles from escaping her lips at the looks of outrage and hatred on the peasants' features.

"How do you know that?" Zuzu demanded while Aang looked quite amused by what she had done.

She laughed, waving a hand at her brother. "Please, Zuzu, don't be so nervous. I just spoke with an Avatar who has been dead for thousands of years – eight thousand years, I actually think it was." She smiled innocently, golden eyes daring the peasants.

All eyes eventually turned to Aang, the peasants' shining with betrayal, and he shrugged in admittance, "I was speaking with one of my past lives and Azula joined in on our conversation – she was a great help with everything."

"Very well, Avatar Aang, but how are we going to go about this?" Her mother asked the room, staring at the peasants coldly, and they seemed shocked by her glare; and that was the moment when Azula realized that Zuzu hadn't told them that he had found their mother and that she was sitting with them all.

Toph, who had remained quiet for some time, finally spoke, her irritating voice was as grating as usual, maybe even more so. "Well, all this spirit mumbo jumbo is beyond my expertise."

The male peasant rolled his eyes, "Just like everything else," he snarked, finally overcoming his fear from Aang's earlier words.

Before a huge argument would break out, Suki finally spoke, "So, how do we find out which one it is? How do we determine who freed Ozai?"

Azula smirked at them, offering offhandedly, "Well, since  _Dark_  escaped from his prison recently, it's probably him."

Aang's sigh echoed throughout the room, ignoring the peasants' expressions of disbelief once again. "I would agree,"

Her uncle's brows furrowed in contemplation, "I don't know, Avatar Aang and Princess Azula. This entire incident is quite strange."

Azula saw Aang nod his head, "We will need the Order for this, General Iroh."

"You do not need my permission to summon the Order of the White Lotus, Avatar Aang," her uncle notified. "The Avatar is the founder of our Order and the sole commander of our legions."

Azula's eyes widened. That had been something that she had never heard before, and based on the expressions of everyone else, even Zuzu, they all felt the same as she.

The male peasant quickly raised his hand, "So we believe this presence is  _Dark_  and that we need the Order's help to face him, correct?" He summed up.

Her uncle nodded his head, raising his cup of tea in the air, "Yes, the circumstances concerning Azula's sudden demand to be turned over by my nephew to the Earth Kingdom are almost frighteningly odd, as well, I must say."

Zuzu agreed, nodding his head fiercely. "Yes, it was most peculiar and definitely unexpected, to say the least, especially the threat of war unless I complied."

Aang's head snapped up at her brother's words. "What did you say?" He demanded, leaning forward, gray eyes serious.

Azula frowned in concern, raising a brow. She had already told him the reason why she had been released by Zuzu to Ember Island. Why did he act so surprised by her brother's words? Had he forgotten?

Zuzu glanced at her and she shrugged, not knowing why Aang had taken such an interest. "Well, I had received a letter months ago that demanded- "

"Yes, I know that, Zuko, but just how unexpected were the demands?" Aang stared at the Fire Lord.

"Completely. I dropped the tea that I was drinking," her brother said seriously.

She saw her uncle wince and she almost laughed at his despair-filled expression.

Aang slumped in his seat, "That's brilliant," he muttered. "Of course, that would work. It's how every spirit's power works."

Azula narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, Twinkletoes," the Earthbender suddenly said. "Tell us!"

Aang closed his eyes and seemed so tired, "I believe that  _Dark_  is using the Earth Kingdom's hatred for the Fire Nation to gain strength – probably the world's hatred for the Children of Fire, actually, not just the Earth Kingdom's. He's been imprisoned for ten thousand years, so that means he's, innately, very weak. He's building his power back up after Wan imprisoned him, but the only problem is, is that I cannot think of any conceivable way as to how he escaped from the Tree of Time." He whispered the last part.

"Is there someone who could have potentially freed him?" Toph asked, "Maybe another spirit?"

Azula shook her head as Aang spoke, "Yes, but it would be implausible, Toph. To get to the Tree of Time without the use of the Portals," he looked to the others, "The Spirit Portals allow people to retain their bending abilities when entering the Spirit World through them. Anyway, to get to the Tree of Time without using the Portals is almost impossible. It would take someone or something of tremendous power."

Her brother sighed, "So he's using the world's hatred for the Fire Nation to heal himself."

Aang nodded, "I believe so, Zuko,"

"Well, that's just great!" The male peasant threw his hands up sarcastically. "How the fuck do we stop that?"

Azula agreed but had to admit that it was genius, something that she would do if she had been in Vaatu's position.

"So, as my husband said, how do we stop him?" Suki asked, "And are we ruling out  _Face?"_

"I think that I should travel to Ba Sing Se and speak with Kuei personally about his demands for Azula. And yes,  _Face_  could not have been who freed Ozai; the facts don't add up." Aang swiftly stood up, "I'll leave in the morning," he turned to leave, but Azula stopped him, her voice calmly piercing through the air.

"Do you think that it's a good idea to travel to Ba Sing Se when they might, potentially, be under  _Dark's_  control?" She asked curiously.

"Lightning Psycho's right, Twinkletoes, no matter how much I wish that she weren't. There's no way that you're going to Ba Sing Se by yourself." Toph said bluntly.

Aang stiffened and turned around, "I appreciate the sentiment, but I can take care of myself. I'm not that kid anymore."

"Still, Aang, you can't go alone," the female peasant finally spoke, blue eyes blazing with determination. "We should all go."

"Don't be ridiculous," Azula said, shaking her head. "For all that we know,  _Dark_  and my father could still be in the Fire Nation. Almost everyone needs to stay here in case an attack is launched against my brother."

The female peasant glared, "It's quite suspicious that you bring something like that up, isn't it? For all that the rest of us know,  _Dark_ and your father might be waiting for your signal to- "

"What did I say earlier, Katara?" Aang's voice harshly cut through the room, his face twisted into a dark frown. "You don't learn, do you?"

Azula saw the male peasant's face flush with brotherly rage, "Hey, Aang, how dare- "

Aang looked at him, "Shut up, Sokka. I don't want to hear another word. Do you hear me? My judgment is the only one out of everyone's in this room that can be trusted; all of your emotions from the Great War are clouding your decisions and thoughts about Azula. And her family is willing to potentially overlook certain things. I've spent months with her and can safely say that she won't betray me or kill me, all right? Here's what we are going to do: I will travel alone to Ba Sing Se while the rest of you stay here, guarding the Caldera and Zuko against a potential attack by Ozai and  _Dark_. Ozai wants to regain his firebending, no doubt, and he yearns for the Dragon's Throne once more. He would strike at Zuko if given the opportunity, and with me gone, that's a perfect occasion." His gray eyes looked at everyone but mainly focused on the water peasants. "I hope that I can trust you both to keep your emotions in check while I'm gone; Azula will stay with you, but you will not attempt to harm her, okay? I will be most displeased if you do."

"What happened to you?" The female peasant breathed out, looking distraught.

"I grew up," he motioned for Appa and Momo to follow him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be turning in for the night," Aang said coolly and swiftly exited the room.

Azula mentally applauded the Avatar, extremely impressed by his actions and demeanor.

For several moments, silence reigned unchallenged until it was pierced by a fiery Waterbender.

"What did you do to him?" The female peasant demanded, blue eyes burning with loathing. "What have you done to Aang to force him to act so… callous?"

She raised a brow and decided to be a little cruel, twisting the invisible dagger even more; they deserved it, in her eyes. "It wasn't me who did anything, except offer a shoulder for him to lean on."

Suki tilted her head, finally showing some emotion: fury. "You seduced him, didn't you?" She breathed out, cheeks flushed as she clenched her fists, "Of course, it's so clear now."

The male peasant's eyes widened, "You're right! She must have spread her- "

Zuzu stood to his feet, a deadly expression coloring his face. "If you're implying what I think you are, I could order your execution right now." Azula turned to her brother in surprise, shocked that he would still care for her so much. "Even though my threats don't hold the same weight as Aang's, they are still plenty worrisome. You are in my nation, my palace, my very home. You have insulted my sister, trying to put forth shame on the House of Agni, something unforgivable."

Her uncle placed a calming hand on Zuzu's shoulder, his expression never changing, whereas Azula's mother glared at the peasants and Suki with an intensity that could melt all of the ice in both of the Poles.

"I think that all of our emotions are frayed by the news of my brother's escape," her uncle said sagely, voice calm. "Now, if we aren't careful, then this conflict could splinter us, dividing us against this common, powerful enemy."

Azula stood up as well, recognizing that she should depart before the room became physically violent. "Well, goodnight," she bowed mockingly to the peasants and turned to her brother, "I assume that I will be in my old quarters, brother mine, correct?"

The Fire Lord raised his one eyebrow, "Do you honestly think that I would give you permission to return to your old quarters?"

Azula smirked, "Yes, yes, I do,"

Zuzu smiled slightly and waved her away, "Go ahead," he muttered.

She smiled, "That was so kind of you. Thank you, Zuzu,"

"Yeah, whatever,"

Shaking her head, she left the dining hall in pursuit of the shadows of her past, refusing to let them triumph over her.

"Azula!" She whirled around, hands alight with blue flames, but she faltered when she saw her mother approaching, "Can I speak with you for but a moment?"

Wetting her lips, she snuffed out the flames. "Very well, what do you need, mother?"

Her mother's face was soft, proud in the light of Agni's dimming rays. "I had wanted to see how you were doing, but from what I've gathered and witnessed with my own eyes, you are flourishing."

Azula nodded her head slowly, "Yes, I am, mother," she felt a smile smirk curve across her lips. "I feel better than I ever have, in all honesty."

Her mother smiled brilliantly, "You have no idea how happy that makes me feel, to hear those words." Abruptly, though, her mother's hands twitched, fire sparking across her fingertips, "Don't listen to those foolish- "

"Mother, please," she laughed. "I'm a grown woman, okay? If anything, their words were amusing because they have no idea how badly they had fucked up."

"And you're talking about Avatar Aang, aren't you?"

"Yes, they abandoned him, mother, like he, the Avatar, was marketplace trash. One day, they were there, and the next – gone."

Her mother's eyes clouded with sadness, "You're not only talking about those fools, are you?"

Inhaling slowly, she nodded. "No, I'm not. I understand why you left, I truly do, but… I also don't understand at the same time."

Tears glittered in her mother's golden eyes, "Azula, my precious daughter, I hope you know that whenever you're ready, if you ever will be, I'll always be waiting."

"Understood, mother," she whirled around, not wanting to continue her conversation with her mother. She didn't owe her mother anything, not at all.

XxXxXxXxXxX

No matter how hard she had tried, Azula could not sleep. Phantoms from the past were lurking in every corner of her mind. Her mother's words were echoing in her mind, and there was a void in her mind because a certain Avatar wasn't asleep on her bedroom floor. So, she finally decided to give up after several hours of lying in her bed and stepped towards the secret passage, feeling a soft smile coat her lips at the onslaught of memories that flooded her mind.

When they had been only children, she and Zuzu had used to always play in all of the secret passages, jumping out to try to scare the guards and servants. Her smile soon faded as she realized how long ago that time was, back when their family hadn't been a discombobulated mess, a mockery of what a family should be.

She put her heated hand to the wall and was rewarded when the door opened, and as she stepped inside, the door slid shut soundlessly. She summoned a small flame in her hand and walked through the tunnels, intent on finding Aang, not even trying to dwell on why she wanted to be in his presence; she was afraid of what she would find if she did.

After a few moments of consideration, Azula assumed that the Avatar would be stationed in Zuzu's old room, the Crown Prince's room. Since her brother was now, undoubtedly, in the Fire Lord's quarters, the Crowned Prince's chambers were available. And the Avatar was a guest worthy of every honor possible, and plus, he was Zuzu's best friend; her brother would try to accommodate his friend as best as he could.

Upon arriving at the panel that would lead to the Crowned Prince's room, she put her hand on the wall once more, the stone cool against her fingers. After heating her palm, the door slid open and she stepped through, unsurprised to see the Avatar standing on the balcony. The sight of Appa dozing on the floor, huge body snuggled against the wall didn't shock her as much as it would have before.

"Azula," his voice drifted to her ears. "You should be resting," he sounded worried.

She raised a brow, "And so should you, Aang," she walked past the bed, noting that it hadn't even been slept in at all – he had been up all night just as she had been.

"Maybe, but sleepless nights are familiar, too familiar to me."

Quickly, wanting to be close to him, she aligned herself next to his weary form and looked to where he was staring: at the moon.

"Can you see her, the Water Tribe Princess, Yue?" She questioned curiously, not seeing anything except the orb of the great light that could, at times, rival Agni himself in brilliance.

"Yes, I can see all spirits, Azula. When at the Air Temples, I would often see the spirits of my slain kin even though I have already given them their proper burials and rights." Aang said softly, fingers curling around the railing "It's a blessing and a curse, more than you could even imagine."

"I won't insult you by trying," she whispered, feeling great sympathy for him. He was right, she couldn't even imagine what it would feel like to be the last Firebender in the world, to have the unbearable burden of being the only one who could revive a dead race through her own body. She decided to take his mind off his misery, "I'm going with you to Ba Sing Se," she declared confidently, knowing what his reaction would be.

She was right as Aang's gaze snapped to her and, to her amusement, he didn't look tired any longer. "What? No, you're not," his gray eyes were serious.

"Why not, Aang? I would be a huge help," she said calmly. "Plus, Kuei would be more likely to respond to you if I was there." She risked a glance towards Appa, now noticing that Momo was asleep over the Sky Bison's arrow.

"They won't wake up, don't worry," Aang shook his head then, looking quite displeased by her words. "They would kill you," his voice lowered, patience officially broken.

"And the peasants would try to kill me here, Aang," she saw his jaw clench, but he didn't comment. "They hate me with a passion that could rival my own hatred for my father, and they don't actually think that you'll stay true to your promise –  _'I will unleash memories of untold horrors to you both. Do not test me because these memories would make the Mother of Horrors turn away in terror.'_  They don't believe, for even a second, that you'll actually do it." She dared to place a hand on his tense arm, feeling relief that he didn't brush her away. "So, where would I be most safe, Aang?"

"On Ember Island," he responded immediately.

She rolled her eyes, chuckling to herself. "Clever, Avatar, clever, but that isn't an option; you know that. Would I be safer with you, or with the peasants?"

"Your mother, uncle, and brother would be with you here, Azula,"

"Yes, they would, but the peasants would still attempt to kill me; my family isn't near as threatening or as scary as you, the Avatar himself."

Aang finally huffed, "Ba Sing Se, the entire Earth Kingdom itself wants your head on a molded pike, Azula. You place a lot of confidence in me to keep you safe."

"It isn't undeserved, Aang, you more than live up to it. They wouldn't dare to try to kill me with you there, and plus," Azula smirked, their eyes connecting. "Toph will be joining us, too."

Apparently, she had underestimated the Avatar's fury with his former friends for he scowled, gray eyes darkening into storm clouds. "No, she's not, Azula." His voice was as close to an order as he had ever said to her. "And no, neither of you are. I am going alone and that's final." She sighed aloud as she realized that all of the coaxing work that she had achieved beforehand just disintegrated like rocks under an Earthbender's fury because she had pushed him too hard.

Knowing that Aang's Earthbender within him was shining through, Azula decided to try a different approach instead. "I know that you are furious with them, I truly do, but you don't hold much anger towards Toph, do you?" At his incredulous look, she amended her words. "Okay, you're angry at Toph, and you have every right to be, but isn't the anger that you feel towards her less than the fury you feel towards the others, the peasants?"

"I suppose," he said quietly.

"See? Just take her with us and, maybe, you'll have the chance to begin to reconcile with her." She paused and added hesitantly, "I know that you miss them deep down," it was like her feelings towards Mai and Ty Lee.

Aang stared at her critically, gray eyes unreadable. Azula met his stare evenly, refusing to be cowed and eventually, he chuckled. "Very well, Azula, but only her. You're quite the charmer, too, you know?"

"What can I say? It's a gift, one that you possess, as well." She smirked up at him, abiding by his words, knowing that any of the others, especially the peasants, would get in the way if they came, and plus, Zuzu needed all of the help that he could get.

"So, with that apparently resolved, why aren't you asleep?" Aang asked.

Azula smiled at him innocently, "I missed you," she replied sweetly, knowing that there was a lot more truth in that statement – confession – than she wanted to admit. Upon seeing his raised eyebrow, she sighed. "There are too many memories here," she whispered quietly.

He nodded and placed his hand on her shoulder, "You know, it's okay to feel unsettled," he said gently.

She wanted to snap at him, but she didn't have the energy, suddenly feeling severe bouts of exhaustion. "Not everyone believes that, Aang,"

He didn't look surprised by her words and gestured behind him. "We can reinstate our arrangement, if you want. How about it?"

Azula looked at him in disbelief, "Really? You want to sleep on the floor?"

Aang laughed, "I wasn't going to sleep anyways. Like I said earlier, sleepless nights are familiar to me. The bed is all yours."

She refused to name the feelings that bubbled within her at his suggestion. "Thank you, Aang," she whispered. "You're a good man,"

"I'm aware," he said with a straight face and pulled her to the bed, not even seeming to understand that the moment between them was… intimate.

Azula fell onto the blankets with a relieved sigh; she was a lot more tired than she had thought. Looking over at Aang, who was now sitting near her in the Lotus Position, she managed to infuse a warning in her words. "You know that if you run off to Ba Sing Se without me in the middle of the night, I'll shoot you with lightning, right?"

Aang laughed, glancing back at her, "I would expect nothing less, don't worry. I will leave with you and Toph tomorrow for Ba Sing Se. Goodnight, Azula,"

Feeling nervous by the way his soft eyes stared at her, and the emotions that were brimming inside her, she smirked at him. "With me here, Avatar, it definitely is."

Sleep was beckoning her and the last thing she saw was Aang meditating, his presence more soothing to her than anything that she had ever experienced.

XxXxXxXxXxX

His airbending alerted him when Azula's breathing evened out and he knew that she had finally fallen asleep. Risking a glance, Aang stared at her, unable to look away from the smooth expanse of her skin. He had always known that Azula was strikingly beautiful and attractive, exotic in many aspects, but lately, especially since they had spoken with Avatar Kirku days ago, he had begun to realize how utterly stunning and alluring she truly was. His gray eyes roamed over her body, and he wondered.

After several moments of observing her peaceful, lovely features, he shook his head and focused on his breathing, closing his eyes. His mind calmed as he dove into the deepest depths of his soul, searching. He had decided after the disaster that was the 'meal', that he would finally summon Avatar Wan forward. He needed to know what his first incarnation thought about the situation. Traveling past dozens of Avatars, past Kirku, he went as far as he possibly could.

A man appeared before him with shaggy black hair and smiled at him,  _"Hello, Avatar Aang, I am Avatar Wan."_  He nodded his head in greeting.

Aang smiled back, observing the man who had become the first Avatar, who had, by the world's standards, ascended to godhood. "I'm sure that you already know why I summoned you, Avatar Wan."

Wan's easy smile slipped away from his face until his features were smooth.  _"Yes, Avatar Aang, Vaatu has, somehow, escaped from his prison, the Tree of Time."_

"And do you have any ideas, any theories as to how he had escaped?"Aang asked almost desperately. "Anything that you think might help, I would be grateful to hear."

His past life frowned, ethereal fists clenching, the action felt in Aang's soul.  _"Vaatu could never escape on his own, this much I do know. He would need help, and not just anyone's, an immensely powerful being's aid."_

Nodding his head in agreement, for he had pretty much said as much earlier. "So, a spirit must have helped him, then." He concluded, "But who would be foolish enough to inveigle themselves in Vaatu's clutches."

" _Yes, but, to my shame, Avatar Aang, I don't know which spirit was foolish enough to covet chaos and darkness unleashed."_ Wan shrugged in defeat.

Aang didn't know either, but he imagined that Vaatu must have been in contact with the spirit for a long time. "So, I'll need to imprison him again in the Tree of Time, correct?"

Wan nodded,  _"Yes, that would be ideal, but it is highly unlikely that Vaatu would fall for that trap again."_

 _"_ I will have to destroy him from existence, then, won't I?"

_"You cannot destroy him, Avatar Aang. Raava and Vaatu cannot exist without the other. They cannot permanently destroy each other, as whoever is defeated would eventually regenerate inside the other, reforming like Yin and Yang because a small piece of each is inside the other. Light and Darkness cannot exist by themselves – they both need each other like fire needs air."_

"So, the only option is to put him inside the Tree of Time again," he observed.

" _Yes, but like I already said, that would be practically impossible to do again. T_ _he Harmonic Convergence is coming, Avatar Aang. You will need to face Vaatu and defeat him, lest darkness and chaos molest both Realms for ten-thousand years."_ Wan said seriously.

"I know," he whispered sadly.

Wan smiled at him,  _"Good luck, Avatar Aang, I know that if anyone could deal with Vaatu, it is you; you are stronger than you know, my friend."_ He dispersed into Aang's body.

Aang closed his eyes in defeat, knowing that there would be no way that he'd be able to sleep tonight, especially since the Gaang was in the palace.

XxXxXxXxXxX

**Tell me what you think and leave a review. I'd really appreciate it.**

****Azula fully opens up to Aang and reveals quite a lot. We all knew that Iroh was a different man before Lu Ten died, as shown in the episode** **_Zuko Alone_ ** **. If you remember, he had written a letter to Ursa about his siege on Ba Sing Se –** **_"I hope you all may see it someday, if we don't burn it to the ground first!"_ ** **And he was shown laughing when he wrote that. That little scene actually reveals quite a bit about Iroh's former personality and based on the little tidbits we were fed in the show, I think that he was honestly feared through the entire Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes. And I know that it says in Canon that Sozin, Azulon, and Ozai were the ones who had all tried and failed to find the Avatar, but to me, at least for this story, that doesn't make sense. Azulon hated Ozai and would never send him off for a chance for his second son to receive glory, and plus, Iroh was the one who traveled all over the world. It was shown that he knew the Air Temples, so he must have been there before, decades before Zuko, trying to find the missing Avatar, too.**

**Yes, I don't think that Ozai was a prodigy-like character as Azula was – and Aang, too. We know that Azulon was a prodigy and I'm pretty sure that Iroh would be classified as such, as well. But Ozai was a late-bloomer just as Zuko – like father like son. And Ursa, who in this story, is a Firebender, and she was a prodigy. Ozai loved her so fiercely because she was everything that he wanted to be, at least in firebending.**

****Some OC Avatars! I find the idea of the Avatar fascinating, so I intend to have Aang utilize his past lives a lot more than in Canon, especially when it concerns how Korra hardly ever communicated with her past lives, which then, as we all know, led to the end of the Avatar Cycle. Suffice to say, that won't happen in this story. I did change the Harmonic Convergence from the perfect alignment of all planets to the perfect alignment of all the stars. Personally, I was never a fan of how they added planets to the Avatar universe because, to me, it lessens the mysticism of the world. So, I changed it to the alignment of stars because it makes sense in the type of world that Avatar is set in. Avatar Kirku is my own creation and I wanted someone, specifically a previous Avatar, who Aang could relate to. Kirku did face a similar problem to Aang in regard to the Waterbenders, but it wasn't the same. Also, I wanted a viable way for the Ocean and Moon Spirits to sacrifice their immortality and end up in the Northern Water Tribe. Why would two of the ancient spirits in Avatar, two of the Elemental Spirits themselves give up their immortality, the fundamental key to their power as spirits? It wouldn't have been 'out of the good of their hearts' because that's just stupid. Shoutout to _gaara king of the sand_  for it was he who came up with the great idea that the Water Tribes were near extinction because of a war where they were at a severe disadvantage (not enough water near them). So Avatar Kirku does his duty as Avatar and relocates the Water Tribes to the North Pole and convinces Tui and La that it would be best if they give up their immortality to save their children, to save waterbending.**

**Okay, about the life-spans for Avatars, and everyone else. We all know in Canon that Avatar Kyoshi lived for over two hundred years, and I believe that this is because of chi. A bender has more chi than a non-bender, and the Avatar has more chi than anyone. This story, after much thought, will set the narrative around each Avatar Cycle, especially because Vaatu is involved, which is then about one-thousand years, a millennium. So, each Avatar lives, on average, two-hundred-fifty years, which if you remember, is quite close to how old Kyoshi was when Canon declares that she died. Just as I mentioned, I plan to use the** **_Legend of Korra_ ** **timeline, at least sort of, so the Avatar's existence begins ten-thousand years ago, so there is only about forty Avatars total in the Avatar Cycle thus far. They live a long time, indeed, and it makes sense because of how** **_Avatar: The Last Airbender_ ** **treated the Avatar.**

****Aang is quite callous and rude to the Gaang, but can you expect anything less? In this story, they had selfishly abandoned him, a twelve-year-old child, who was completely alone in the world. Now, he is twenty-years-old, a man. Suffice to say, a lot of anger and bitterness have swelled in his heart. And it makes sense that Katara and Sokka – and I suppose Suki and Toph – would fall back into the roles that they had played in the Great War. But the only problem now is that Aang refuses to do that. He is no longer that naïve, bubbly-eyed kid. His heart has hardened after all of the emotional scarrings he's suffered and frankly, I think that he's a lot better off than he could be.**

**Also, I do know that Azula might seem a little strange, but I disagree. She's finding who she is without Ozai's shadow ever-present. She was never a sadistic person, to begin with. I've read comments and stories where people toss around the word 'sadistic' blindly and declare Azula a sadistic monster, but she actually isn't one, not even a little if you actually think about it. There is no evidence from Canon that shows her taking pleasure in seeing people getting physically hurt (the smirk after shooting Aang in Ba Sing Se, I think, comes from the fact that she had triumphed over the Fire Nation's biggest threat to world domination.) and we've never seen her harming innocent people – until her mind broke, that is, and that's a** **_major_ ** **difference.**

**Remember Bosco, King Kuei's pet bear? Azula – and what I think that most people would do in the situation – could have imprisoned the bear in a cage, or even killed the animal as a sacrifice for Agni, but instead, she ordered Mai and Ty Lee to guard Bosco. And in** **_The Boiling Rock_ ** **episode, she stopped the warden, Mai's uncle, from torturing an innocent man. I mean, if she was actually sadistic, then she wouldn't have cared about that man and let the warden torture him, but she didn't. Instead, Azula only needed to listen to the guy's explanation and when she realized that he was telling the truth, she inadvertently saved him from being fruitlessly tortured by the warden.**

**And the most infamous example behind people declaring Azula sadistic: the scene in Zuko's flashback during** **_Zuko Alone_ ** **. First of all, it was Zuko who had harmed the Turtle Duck by throwing the rock, not Azula. His exact words were:** **_"Hey, mom, want to see how Azula feeds Turtle Ducks?"_ ** **And then, without waiting for an answer, he whips a rock at the Turtle Duck without hesitation. If you truly delve into the context of the scene, it can then be inferred that Azula did actually feed the Turtle Ducks but by throwing** **_pieces of bread_ ** **at it, but not with a rock like Zuko had so cruelly done. So, since Ursa didn't know that Azula threw pieces of bread for the Turtle Ducks to feed on, based on her reaction to Zuko's rock-throwing-incident, it is deftly clarified that Azula fed the Turtle Ducks when her mother wasn't there. (I read all of this somewhere, but I can't remember where it was. I didn't come up with it. Someone else did.)**

**_Stay Safe  
_ ButtonPusher**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender**

XxXxXxXxXxX

Her eyes fluttered open, Agni's rising light pulsing in her own heart, rousing her from the depths of her slumber. Her room was empty and images from the previous night flooded her mind, and she remembered. Jumping to her feet, she looked around the room for Aang, but he was nowhere to be seen – and neither was Appa or Momo. Fear curdled in her gut. Had he broken his promise? Had he lied, deciding to fly off to Ba Sing Se on his own in the dead of night?

Azula's breathing didn't waver but something inside her did at the potential possibility that Aang had done those things. And it was at that moment when she realized how much she needed him in her life; already, with the likelihood of his departure, she could feel her mind revert, splintering as it had all of those years ago.

But she had to be sure.

She stomped out of the door, glaring at the two imperial firebending guards, "Where is the Avatar?"

"Princess Azula," shock colored their tones and they subtly adjusted their stances, preparing to attack and/or defend themselves. "Why would you care?"

Ire filled her at his words, "You would do well to remember that I could kill you both right now with no one the wiser, not even my brother. Who would miss a few guards?" She leaned forward, feeling the monster that she had been so long ago rising within her heart, golden eyes blazing, blue flames crackling across her fingers. "Where is Avatar Aang?"

The guards risked a glance at each other and one of them deflated, "We don't know why you were in the Avatar's quarters during the night- "

"And you will spread no rumors about it, understand? I refuse to be known as the Whore of the Four Nations."

"- but Avatar Aang left his quarters incredibly early this morning with his… Sky Bison and the… um, I don't know what that thing's called."

"Winged-Lemur," she supplied, not giving the guards a chance to fabricate a story.

"Yes, but he had left his chambers before Agni had risen. We were concerned for his health, but he waved us off, declaring that he needed to speak with Fire Lord Zuko."

The sapphire flames waned in her hands as she inhaled slowly, "Thank you, and I'm… my actions… previously were… I'm sorry that I threatened you. I'm trying to be a different person, but I failed at that moment." She whirled around, marching towards her brother's privy chambers.

Although the guard's words relieved her, she knew how gifted of a liar the Avatar actually was, so she wouldn't be surprised if had lied, especially since he had taken Appa and Momo with him to 'visit her brother'.

As she found one of the secret passages, she didn't waste a second as she entered, the door soundless. Maneuvering through the secret passages was always a skill that she had possessed, but now, she had never been more thankful for it. When she came across the panel that would lead to her brother's privy chambers, she didn't hesitate, uncaring if her actions might look like that of a threat.

She burst through the now-open door, hearing the last of a conversation. "- with me," two pairs of eyes whirled around to face, both shocked and the golden set looked a little wary.

Relief erupted through her as Aang quickly looked concerned, "Are you alright?"

Azula was unable to contain her smile of relief, but she was able to mask the liberation that she felt because he was here and not in Ba Sing Se. "I'm fine, don't mind me. Please, carry on," she gestured, waving her hand.

After a moment, still glancing at her, Zuzu frowned and rubbed his forehead, seeming exhausted. "I think that that would be the best option, especially concerning what had happened last night, but why not the others?"

Azula piped in, easily understanding what they were talking about. "Because, Zuzu, they will just get in the way."

"But I don't want  _them_  here," her brother hissed. "Take them with you, I insist,"

Aang put his hand on the Fire Lord's shoulder in shared sympathy, "I am angry with them too, but I insist that you don't let your emotions cloud your judgment like a certain Waterbender we both know. Look at this logically, Zuko. Who would be the best team to make amends with Kuei and talk, trying to solve the problem? Would it be me, Katara, Sokka, and Suki? Or Azula, Toph, and myself?" The answer was pretty obvious.

Zuzu sighed heavily, "The latter," he sulked. "I can't make any promises, though."

"About what?" She asked curiously.

"That I won't banish them from the Fire Nation, maybe even ordering executions." While she knew that the former was, indeed, true, the latter wasn't in her brother's capability; she knew that Zuzu had ordered many executions for their father's loyalists, and even several of the Noble Heads, but he wouldn't condemn his own, former as they may be, friends.

Aang squeezed the Fire Lord's shoulder, "Don't worry, Zuko, we won't be gone for too long unless something drastic happens, I assure you.

Zuzu didn't seem convinced and turned to look at her, "You do realize that, if you go to Ba Sing Se and appear before Kuei, you will be killed on sight, don't you?"

Azula smirked, "Not with the Avatar around," she said confidently. "They wouldn't dare. None of them have the balls big enough to face Aang's wrath."

Her brother rolled his eyes, looking Aang once again. "Whatever, but I must say that having the Avatar as your… guard is good. Thank you, my friend, for being willing to protect my sister. I know that the history between you two isn't…"

"I'm aware, Zuko, but as I mentioned last night to everyone, I've forgiven Azula for her deeds in the Great War." Aang smiled ironically, "It's shocking, actually. I have forgiven the two children of Ozai, my bitterest foe, the very man who sought to burn the world to ash."

Zuzu nodded, "You are a far better person than we are, Aang. Just don't be gone too long. I don't know how long I can last here on my own with them. I've already spent enough time in their presence before your arrival."

Aang nodded, "We'll eat breakfast and then depart." He glanced at her, "Does that sound good?"

She smirked, "Oh, it definitely does, Aang. Maybe, when we get to Ba Sing Se, we can bring their walls down once more." She stepped closer, "It was so fun last time,"

He chuckled, shaking his head, "No, I don't think so,"

XxXxXxXxXxX

"What do you mean that we're not coming with you to Ba Sing Se?" Katara's voice carried throughout the hall. "You were supposed to realize your egregious mistakes during the night and reveal that you were wrong, that we were all going!"

It was only the members of the Gaang present, save Zuko. Azula and Zuko's mother and General Iroh were nowhere to be seen and he was thankful because he already knew that this 'meeting' would be explosive, particularly for a certain Waterbender about a certain Firebender. He had hoped that Katara would take his warning to heart, but it seemed that he had overstepped in his faith. Azula had been correct.

Aang sighed, calling upon the patience taught by the Elders at the Air Temples, but with Katara, it was extremely arduous. He could never remember her being so difficult to deal with during the Great War. "You'll be better off staying here. We don't want too many people spooking Kuei, so it will be only Toph, Azula, and myself who travel to Ba Sing Se. I already explained this last night, did I not? Ozai could be anywhere and Zuko needs to be protected. You will stay here, then, to do just that."

"Why is  _she_  going with you?" Katara looked murderously at Azula, the sight making Aang frown darkly. "She is going to betray you and then try to kill you!"

"Please, Katara, that's ridiculous." Azula rolled her eyes blatantly, calmly sipping firewhiskey from a chalice. "How could I possibly even wound the Avatar? He's power beyond imagination. The only slim chance that I would have was if he was still that boy in the Great War, but I can assure you wholeheartedly, with every drop of Royal Blood in my veins, that he is no longer that boy." The insult was understood as Katara's fists clenched while Sokka and Suki didn't say anything, and Aang was relieved that they understood that he wouldn't tolerate any harm, verbally or physically, against Azula.

The Waterbender's water swirled in her goblet ominously. "You could kill him in his sleep!" The words floated in the air and when he noticed that Azula actually looked offended, he took over.

"That's enough, Katara!" He snapped, all threads of his patience finally stretched too far. "Azula has had countless opportunities to kill me in my sleep and she hasn't." Azula's words echoed from the previous evening,  _'They don't actually think that you'll stay true to your promise… They don't believe, even for a second, that you'll actually do it.'_  He abruptly blurred towards Katara, shocking everyone, stopping a hair's length away, staring into her shocked and hidden-fearful eyes. "You watched your mother die, I know you did,"

Her jaw dropped, ire filling her blue eyes like tears. "How dare you?" She demanded, hands balled into tight fists.

Aang then saw, out of the corner of his eye, that Sokka stood from his chair, but Aang had finally grown too angry and he refused to keep from being honest and truthful. He blasted a gust of wind at his former friend, shoving him harshly back into his seat. "I've had enough, I truly have. I warned you last night what would happen if you continued to rest in your obstinate behavior." The rage that he had been so diligently keeping leashed was beginning to be unchecked. While he may have helped Azula heal from everything and help her with her rage, he hadn't helped himself, no one had. It was still there, burning brighter and more fiercely than Sozin's Comet. "You watched your mother die, and that's a tragedy, but do you remember what you said to me all of those years ago?" His hands began to shake, the room along with them. "When I warned you that hunting your mother's killer wouldn't do anything?"

"You kept stating proverbs, Aang, and it was annoying." Sokka hesitantly called out, but Aang ignored him.

Staring into Katara's wide eyes, the dam finally and fully burst.  **"You declared that I don't understand!"** The Avatar's voice exploded through him, booming into everyone's ears, everyone cringing and recoiling except for Azula. Guards rushed into the room, but he waved them away, knowing that they wouldn't dare attempt to attack him.  **"I understand far more than you ever will, Child of Water. I've lost everyone in my life, but you lost only one."**  The Avatar leaned forward, the terrified features of Katara doing nothing but increasing his ire.  **"And not just in this lifetime, but in all of my lifetimes. The Air Nomads are gone, and I am the only one who is left, and who was there to help me?"**

"Aang, I'm sorry!" Katara cried out, tears welling in her eyes.

If anything, her words filled the Avatar with absolute fury, rage beyond rage. Now, he could feel all of the Air Avatars' intense wrath take root.  **"The Mother of Horrors herself had turned away from the sight of the Air Nomads' slaughter when Sozin's armies laid siege against the Air Temples, so why don't I keep my promise?"** The glowing hands reached towards Katara's forehead, the memories of blood and fire and bones echoing in the Avatar's mind.

"No!" He paused and glanced at Azula who had stood up, shaking her head. "You don't need to do this, Aang. I think that they all understand now, better than ever before, how egregiously and outrageously they had acted." Her golden eyes were open, and no fear shone in them, the opposite of everyone else's.

The Avatar State left him, and his steely gray eyes connected with Katara's petrified and horrified blue ones. "Now you finally understand. I trust Azula more than I trust any of you – and yes, the insult was meant. I can see that none of you have changed; you're still the children you were during the Great War. Azula's changed, though, she truly has. She's become a better person than any of you." Aang risked a glance to Azula and noticed that she looked stunned by his words. Not wanting to think about any potential deeper feelings between them, he changed the topic. "Azula is coming as a gesture of goodwill towards the Earth Kingdom. She will play the role of a prisoner so that Kuei will, hopefully, drop his guard." He explained quickly and tonelessly.

When nobody said anything, Suki nodded her head, looking quite pale but her voice was steady. "Very well, Aang. While you are gone, the rest of us will make sure that Zuko is protected."

"Good, because Zuko will need you here in case things go from bad to worse. We should be back within a few days. Toph will know if Kuei is lying, so that will make our job easier and quicker. I would do it myself, but I have more important things to do than monitor heart rates and breathing."

The Kyoshi Warrior pursed her lips, "And what if something goes wrong? What then?"

Aang shook his head, "Nothing will happen, I promise." Momo chattered in agreement with his oath.

"I can't stand the tense air in here." Toph's voice cut through the hollowed-feeling room. "Let's get going, Twinkletoes. I'm ready to crush some Dai Li!" Her enthusiasm was apparent.

Azula laughed, "I think you and I will get along quite nicely."

"Whatever you say, Lightning Psycho." Toph stared at the Firebender, challenging her.

"You might wish to refrain from calling me that," Azula offered off-handedly. "I hear that the air these days is cold and biting."

Toph snorted, "Yeah, I'll take my chances, Lightning Psycho,"

When Azula smiled, Aang closed his eyes, knowing that they would either become the best of friends eventually or the bitterest of enemies quickly. "We're leaving," he declared and whirled around, marching out of the dining hall, needing to be away from them. "Let's go,"

XxXxXxXxXxX

"I will be going to the Eastern Air Temple should something go wrong at Ba Sing Se." Aang's voice echoed into the Fire Lord's privy chambers.

Zuko looked up from the scroll he was reading, still taken aback by the sight of his best friend with hair, but after a moment, he recognized that having hair suited Aang, it truly did. "Leaving so soon?" He dared to quip, having learned of the Avatar State's appearance in the dining hall from a petrified servant.

"I have a feeling that things will not go according to our plan." The Avatar's voice was grave. "I've glimpsed blood being shed, but that is all."

He narrowed his eyes, leaning forward in concern. "Blood being shed? Have you spoken with the others about this?"

"No, I didn't want to worry them needlessly in case I was wrong," Aang said calmly.

"But we both know that your visions are never wrong." Zuko withered under his friend's glare, knowing that there was a lot more to it than that, but let it go at Aang's scowl. "All right, if you don't return, I'll eventually send a message to the Eastern Air Temple, okay?" He stood up and hugged his now-he-noticed-taller friend, "Be careful, all right?" He paused, gathering his courage. "And… take care of Azula, okay? Please keep her safe. I've only just gotten her back; from what I've seen, she's similar to how she acted before mother left. It's a balm to my heart to see her that way."

Aang nodded, his features softening. "Of course, believe it or not, I care for her; she's my only friend in the world except for you, Appa, and Momo."

They stepped apart and the two men stared at each other, teacher and student, friend and friend, Fire Lord and Avatar.

"Farewell, Fire Lord Zuko," Aang bowed his head in respect.

Zuko did the same, squeezing his friend's shoulder at the same time. "Farewell, Avatar Aang,"

The Master of the Four Elements exited his privy chambers with one last quick smile, and the Fire Lord slumped back into his chair. He was not looking forward to the next several days. Katara's apology was weighing heavily on his mind – as was her treatment of his sister from the previous night.

He wanted to forgive her, but he couldn't, especially after what had happened last night. Zuko never forgot and rarely pardoned. He wasn't someone to give his trust so easily, and once he did, that trust couldn't be shattered or Zuko would never trust them again, like Azula. Well, he was mending the shattered trust between them and was on the way to trusting her again.

But when it came to Katara, it was different. At least, after his decision in Ba Sing Se, he had had the courage to face his mistakes and demons. He had known beforehand that it wasn't going to be pretty or a warm welcoming – if they didn't kill him first. But, in spite of everything, he had done it anyway. He had faced the Gaang and admitted that what his nation and father had been doing was wrong, the vilest acts imaginable, deeds that had made him feel ashamed of his bloodline.

Katara wasn't able to do that; she was spineless.

He pinched his nose, the anger beginning to brim over, clouding his judgment. While Katara certainly had many disastrous flaws, she wasn't spineless; that wasn't true. The Waterbender was one of the strongest people who he had ever encountered, but with his anger unable to cease to burn, it was hard to remember that.

At one point, for a long time, he had thought that out of everyone in the Gaang, except for Aang himself, that Katara would be the one who wouldn't forsake him after the Great War had ended. But he had been wrong, so terribly wrong. Years had passed achingly slow and no letters were ever received from her. Zuko knew that he could have been the one who wrote the first letter, but he couldn't do that because he needed her to do it! He desperately needed her to prove that she had actually cared about him and was serious about trusting him and being his friend – as she had declared vocally many times after she had forgiven him.

No letters ever came in spite of his hopeful wishes and that was when he had realized that the Gaang, except for Aang, had only used him as a tool, as a weapon to unleash on the enemy, as a pawn to keep the Fire Nation from falling to a civil war, another Cousins' War.

Now, pinching his nose, Zuko was back to where he had begun before Aang and his sister – that had been a shock when they had arrived together – were at the Caldera. He could trust his mother and uncle with absolute certainty, but he didn't necessarily need to speak with the others. He could just avoid them, order guards to keep them locked in their rooms, but he knew that it was unrealistic, illogical; he would need their help, especially if his father tried to seize the Dragon's Throne with, potentially, an army backing him.

"Zuko?" His uncle entered through the secret passage.

"What?" He snapped.

Slowly, carrying a cup of tea, as was the usual, his uncle walked in and sat gently on the couch. "The Noble Houses are becoming anxious; they are demanding answers about why, in their words, peasants are amongst their Fire Lord."

He sighed, "The Noble Houses are just seeking ways to gain my favor. They don't actually care about what's going on. I bet most of them, if my father returned, would readily kneel before him."

"Whilst that may be true, nephew mine, if you do not handle this situation with the utmost care, then you could have a rebellion on your hands." His uncle's voice was calm.

"Any rebellion against the Fire Lord is treason and thus, execution," he growled out. "I dare them to attempt it! I will unleash my Imperial Firebenders on them – and the Gaang, too! I will confiscate their lands and money and women, claiming it as my own, making me even more powerful. I will leave them nothing and when they are barren of everything, only then will I sign their executions."

His uncle merely raised a brow, unimpressed by his words. "You would hate to order the deaths of that many people, nephew. Entire families would be torn apart and that could create enemies for you and your line in the future."

Zuko wearily stood up and slumped next to his uncle on the couch, "I don't know what to do. I'm at my wit's end, especially since Aang and Azula are leaving for Ba Sing Se."

"That's okay, Zuko. You will not be alone, I will be here this time." He smiled reassuringly.

Relief spread through him at his uncle's adamant words. "Thank you, uncle, that means a lot, it truly does."

"Now, why don't you join me with a nice cup of calming tea?" His uncle suggested with a twinkle in his eyes.

Zuko laughed softly, "All right, but it will need to be after my next meeting which begins in," Zuko closed his eyes and felt the position of the sun, "about a few moments, actually. Afterward, we'll drink tea, okay?"

A bright smile split the older man's features, "I will be in the garden waiting, then," his uncle stood and exited through the secret passage.

He swore that his uncle loved tea more than he loved to firebend, but Zuko didn't care, though. If that was what made his uncle happy, then he would drink tea with him as much as his uncle wanted – as long as his uncle stayed in the Caldera.

He looked up when the door to his privy chambers opened just slightly, "My liege, your meeting will begin soon." The Imperial Firebender reminded him, but Zuko waved him away and the door shut as his mind calmed, dawning the burden of Fire Lord once more with ease.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Katara was lost.

The halls throughout the place seemed infinite and she has no idea where she was supposed to go. After Aang had gone into the… Avatar State, scaring her more than anything ever had, especially when those glowing white, powerful eyes stared directly at her, ancient-infused voice condemning her because of her mistakes, she had immediately fled from the dining hall after he, Toph, and that bitch had left.

How could Aang trust her?  _'I trust Azula more than I trust any of you…'_  his words echoed in her mind, haunting her, mocking as she tried to simply think through it logically, but to her dismay, she found that she couldn't think logically. She had always known how her emotions were frighteningly strong, but it was only now, when Aang had denounced her, that she was beginning to understand that logically, she was weak-minded.

Now, looking upwards at the banner of Fire Lord Sozin, after she had stumbled into this area of the palace, her already potent anger increased drastically. How dare Zuko hold a banner of his great-grandfather for all to see? She felt her fingers clench into fists and the water in her water skin thrashed as she imagined shredding the banner with ice. She narrowly refrained from doing so, recognizing that she could be executed, Zuko's words from last night tormenting her.

How were Zuko and Aang under her spell? How could they willingly trust her? And that servant who had sat next to that bitch, glaring at Katara vehemently? How did Azula do it, manipulate everyone to believe her and see an innocent woman? Katara knew better, though, she did! She would be waiting for the bitch to show her true face once again, and when she did, Katara would do what she should have years ago: kill her.

Her blue eyes drifted to the left and she glimpsed the banner of Zuko's grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon. Word had even reached the Southern Water Tribe of Sozin's son. She remembered her parents discussing Fire Lord Azulon when she was very young, something about a return of Fire to the Pole. Now, staring at the man standing atop a turtle while holding two blazing fireballs, she realized that Zuko's grandfather was exclusively responsible for her mother's death. Who else could order the death of the last Waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe via the Southern Raiders?

Fuming with renewed anger, the image of her mother's burning flesh flashing through her mind, she looked toward the next one and her eyes widened at the resemblance between Fire Lord Ozai and Zuko. If she had ever doubted that Zuko was Ozai's son, they would be snuffed out now.

Appalled by the physical similarities between Zuko and his now-escaped father, Katara stared into the painted eyes of the man who had nearly succeeded in burning the entire Earth Kingdom to ash; even though it was a portrait, Ozai's eyes burned with golden sparks and shivers wracked Katara's spine.  _'Well, that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster, and the worst father in the history of fathers.'_  Zuko's eyes had burned golden, too, crackling like unholy flames just like his father's when he had said that, daring any of them to challenge his statement.

Her fury cracked and before she could stop herself, she summoned the water out of her water skins and deadly large spears of ice floated before the portraits of the three Fire Lords.

"You know, I would recommend that whatever you're thinking, Lady Katara, you rethink it." She whirled around, shocked that someone had snuck up on her, finding herself face-to-face with Iroh, who was calmly sipping a cup of tea, golden eyes narrowed. Her ice dispersed back into water and into her waterskin as she tried to find her words, but nothing passed her stunned and fearful lips. For several moments, Iroh stared at her and she wondered if her execution would be signed by Zuko; he was already angry enough with her. But thankfully, Iroh chose a different path as relief spread through her when he approached. "Lady Katara," he smiled at her. "What are you doing this far from your rooms?" Only curiosity was in his tone, no judgment or anger.

She couldn't help but smile back – she had always liked Zuko's uncle. "General Iroh," she glanced around. "I'm kind of lost, to be honest," she admitted shyly.

Iroh chuckled, "That is understandable, my dear. Come, I am heading to the Royal Garden. You should join me."

"Well, lead the way," she gestured, grateful to have an opening to escape from the portraits of former Fire Lords, the near-destroyers of the world.

Zuko's uncle's arm slipped through hers and he pulled her along the corridor. "This way, my dear, it isn't far."

Katara frowned as they walked towards a dead end, "General Iroh?" She asked hesitantly.

He turned to her mischievously, "You are no traitor, so I believe that my nephew will understand what I am about to reveal to you." He let go of her and placed his hand on the wall while she wondered how well Iroh knew his nephew; Zuko was furious with her, and a big part of her didn't even understand why.

Then, as Iroh's palm became alight with flames, Katara was reminded of the time when Fire Sage Shyu had opened the secret passage in Roku's temple, saving them from the other treacherous Fire Sages.

The same thing happened as the panel slid open soundlessly.

Iroh then gestured for her to follow him and she stepped into the dark corridor. The light soon appeared and Katara looked to Iroh, who held fire in his hand. "A secret passage leads to the… Royal Garden?" She asked in doubt, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, Lady Katara, quite surprising, isn't it? When Avatar Roku destroyed the entire palace in his anger over one hundred and fifty years ago, my grandfather, Fire Lord Sozin rebuilt the entire palace to be stronger and had commissioned the creation of countless secret passages in the case of assassination attempts." Iroh winked at her impishly, "It was also a great way to hide from your parents when in trouble."

Katara laughed, "Even Zuko?"

"Most definitely, Lady Katara. My nephew may not seem like a mischievous boy now, but he once was. He and Azula used to create mischief all throughout the palace. Servants and the guards were on the receiving end of many of their pranks many a time." He chuckled warmly while Katara was shocked.

Azula, that bitch, had always been a demon who rose from the ashes of the other nations' sorrows to reap more death. She had seen it firsthand – she shot Aang with lightning! But, as much as she loathed to admit it, it did make sense, though. Just as when she had mistakenly showed the Gaang the picture of Ozai as a baby thinking that it had been Zuko on Ember Island. Just like her vile father before her, Azula couldn't have always been a monster. And dimly, she recognized that that must be true about Fire Lord Azulon and Fire Lord Sozin, but she refused to contemplate it. She wondered how Iroh became the way he was. He had grown up in the palace, surrounded by Firebenders. Zuko had only seen the truth when he had been banished – she still had no idea why he had been banished and been so obsessed with honor.

"You come from a bloodline of monstrous Firebenders. How did you become the way you are?" After a moment, Katara's eyes widened in pure dread – she hadn't meant to speak it aloud! "I'm so sorry, General Iroh. That was so terribly rude of me," she apologized hastily.

Instead of growing angry as she had feared he would, Iroh only laughed, "Do not worry about it, Lady Katara, it's quite all right. If you would truly like to know, I will share it with you."

"Thank you, I would appreciate it, General Iroh." Now, she might have an idea about how to repair the large rift between she and Zuko.

"Ah, here we are." A staircase leading into stone was in front of them. "Come on, my dear, we're almost there." Iroh prodded her, pointing forward.

They walked up the steps and Iroh placed his hand to the side of the stone, the panel above quickly sliding to the side silently. A blinding light caused Katara to squint and she felt Iroh grab her hand and pull her up as her eyes readjusted. She felt soft grass beneath her feet and once her eyes finally adjusted to the bombardment of her eyes, she saw that there was a small stone slab lying flat where grass should be; it's where the secret passage was.

She swiveled around after a moment, not seeing Zuko's uncle, but after another moment, she saw Iroh sitting in front of a pond. Quickly, she sat next to him and watched Turtle Ducks squabble amongst each other, making amusing noises.

"This is Zuko's favorite place in the palace, you know?" Iroh smiled suddenly, "He used to pretend that he hated this place, but it was obvious to his mother and I that he cherished it. When in doubt as to my nephew's location, come to the Royal Gardens beneath this tree."

She could easily see Zuko act like that. He had such a rough exterior and claimed to be emotionless except for anger, but Zuko felt deeply. "That sounds like him," she said after a moment.

"Indeed. Do you still want to know about my life, Lady Katara?"

"Yes, General Iroh, I do. I want to… understand," she implored, hoping that he wouldn't change his mind after he had already agreed.

"Very well, then. My mother is the main reason why I didn't turn out fully like my brother." Iroh began quietly. "My mother, Fire Lady Ilah was a prodigious Firebender admitted into the Royal Academy over twenty years after my father was crowned as the heir apparent to the Dragon's Throne. My father, from all accounts that I've heard, was taken with her the moment when they had met, and even though she was younger than my father by two decades, my mother was quite taken with him as well. Soon they were married, and I was born a little over a year later. I was the heir to my father, second-in-line to the Dragon's Throne, groomed from birth to become the Fire Lord after my father and expected to perform extraordinary feats." Iroh was quiet, his voice was a mixture of fondness and disdain.

Katara listened attentively. The only thing that any of the Gaang, save Zuko, knew about Iroh was that he was a Grandmaster of the White Lotus and that his son, Lu Ten's death at Ba Sing Se had shown him the error of his ways. "How did she help you?" She asked quietly.

"My mother always reminded me to stay true to myself, not to be the sum of one's titles. I took that lesson to heart when I was younger, but as I became older, when my father became the Fire Lord, I drifted away from her wisdom. When I was twenty years old, my brother was born, and, to the shock of the entire Fire Nation, my mother died during the birth."

Compassion welled in her, "I'm sorry, General Iroh, I know how it feels to lose a mother, too."

"It changes people, doesn't it, Lady Katara? I resented my brother because of that and never realized it until later in life. But in spite of everything, Ozai knew, though; he knew that I didn't care for him. I, to my utmost shame, even contemplated killing him many times when he was a child, my own bother, my flesh and blood, but I could never go through with it. Eventually, when my father sent me to the Earth Kingdom, I was eternally grateful. I laid siege to their nation for several years, spreading another reign of terror as my father had done before me years previously, and that is when Fire Lord Azulon ordered me to return home."

Katara was awed; Iroh was a tremendous storyteller and she could feel what he was obviously feeling. "Why were you called home?"

"Upon my return, my father said I was to be married, producing another generation of the Fire Royal Bloodline, the House of Agni. I will admit that I had not been so receptive to the idea, rejecting the Fire Lord's order, but my father was as stubborn as any Earthbender whom I've ever met, and we eventually came to a compromise: I would marry a firebending woman of Noble Blood of my choosing in a year or my father would arrange a marriage." Katara was eerily reminded of her own father's edict and swallowed while Iroh continued. "After several months, nobody had caught my eye, and I traveled to Ember Island because reports of violence brewing between the Noble Houses had reached my father's ears and he sent me to resolve it. When I arrived, I solved the minor dispute quickly, within hours, actually. I can't even remember what it was about and had decided to stay for an extra day of relaxation." Iroh laughed joyously and Katara felt a smile twitch her lips at the sound, "And I'm so that happy I did, Lady Katara! That day, on the beach, was when I met Natsumi, my future wife. I was just like my father that day. I fell in love with her the moment when I saw her drinking firewhiskey in the sand. I was blinded by her beauty like she had been Agni himself and as a result, I extended my day of relaxation to over a month, and believe me, my father was furious." Iroh chuckled unapologetically, "I convinced Natsumi to return with me to the palace and after explaining what had happened, my father accepted her as my wife - she was of noble birth and was a Firebender. My father had declared that, while her prowess in the bending art was nowhere near a Master's, my blood would atone for any 'weakness' in our potential, future offspring, the heirs to the Dragon's Throne." Iroh sighed after a moment, trailing off.

"What happened?"

"She became pregnant within a month of her presentation to Azulon, and when my father discovered the pregnancy, we were married immediately. He hadn't wanted any rumors of my child being thought as a bastard to surface and afterward, Natsumi and I were both so happy. The pregnancy was hard on her, though, so hard. When the labor came prematurely…" he swallowed hard and closed his eyes. "My wife, my beautiful Natsumi was called home to Agni's incandescent kingdom. Her final words were the naming of our son: Lu Ten"

Katara was crying for the sorrow in his voice was too much; it was too reminiscent of her own recollection of her mother's death. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Ozai had only been nine years old when it happened. That was the last time I had ever seen him look at me without hatred. You see, he had tried to console me, and I… burned him." Iroh's face twisted with grief and self-loathing. "Grief can make people unrecognizable to who they once were. I had almost killed my brother on that day," he shook his head in self-loathing. "The only thing that had stopped me from killing Ozai was Lu Ten's screams."

Katara had always known that Iroh's backstory was sorrow-filled, but she had had no idea that it was so appalling. It was a miracle, to her, that he had turned out the way he did. She was also beginning to feel bad for Ozai. It was preposterous! Ozai was a monster and nothing would change that, not even a childhood that was, from what she was hearing, a cursed one.

"I believe that that had been the final straw for my only brother. You see, he could never earn our father's love because Ilah, Azulon's beloved wife and our mother, was murdered bringing him into the world." Katara gasped in horror, unable to believe that a father could be so cruel, but she knew that Ozai and Azulon and Sozin were anything but good fathers. "And to my brother, it seemed that I loathed him, and he was right: a small part of me did." Iroh's guilt was tangible and Katara wanted to comfort him but didn't know how to. "After Natsumi's death, the only thing that kept me going was my son. For six years he was my entire life, Lady Katara, and by then, Ozai was fifteen, a few months away from sixteen, and had just met Lady Ursa." Iroh's tone had taken on a deep fondness.

Katara was especially attentive to this part. Zuko had never spoken of his mother, except revealing that she was gone, had been for many years, when she and the others had asked him about her during the Great War. "What was she like?" At Iroh's curious look, she clarified. "Zuko never said anything about her. He was tight-lipped, refusing to say anything except that she was gone."

Iroh shook his head with a sigh, "That is not a surprise, Lady Katara. My nephew – and my niece, too, for a long time – were close with their mother. Anyway, to answer your question, Lady Ursa was so much like my mother. You see, she was a prodigious Firebender admitted into the Royal Academy and Azulon's eye was caught once again. But this time, instead of marrying her himself, he introduced my brother to her, and Ozai was, like my father and I before him, instantly smitten. Then, in several months, they were married with Zuko on the way. And when my nephew was born, the labor was very taxing on Princess Ursa. I feared that history was repeating itself. First, my mother, my beautiful wife, and then Princess Ursa, my new sister: the curse of bearing a child of Royal Blood. It looked quite bad and that was the last time when I had ever seen my brother look remotely sad. When everything seemed lost, my sister-in-law pulled through, though, overcoming the great odds that had been stacked against her." Iroh said proudly.

Katara wondered if Zuko would want to know that his father was sad at the thought of his death during birth but realized that he wouldn't. Instead, she licked her lips, "Then what happened?"

"A year later, Azula was born with no complications and for a while, my brother had really turned on the charm. He seemed… happy and he seemed interested in making Princess Ursa and his children happy; he granted all of them so many wishes that I can scarcely recall them all. He had tried to be a good husband to his wife and a good father to his children, but that happiness didn't last. My brother's true face eventually showed itself." Iroh stared down at his hands, seeing things that she never could.

She placed a hesitant hand on his own, "What about your son and Zuko? Were they close?"

Iroh inhaled deeply, gathering his words. "Oh, yes, Lady Katara, they were close – and Azula, too. Lu Ten dearly loved both his cousins and would take every opportunity to play with them. Matter of fact, it was he who had shown them the secret passages and how to prank the servants. Zuko specifically adored Lu Ten and viewed him more as a brother than a cousin – and I would dare say that Azula had once felt the same. My son would often spend time with Zuko and Azula instead of training, an annoyance to my father, but one that he allowed through my persuasion. They were all as close as siblings and for Zuko's fifth birthday, Lu Ten gifted him with the Dao Swords that you have seen my nephew wield." Iroh looked at her pointedly.

Katara nodded and she could still visualize the awkward picture that Zuko had presented when he found them at the Western Air Temple with only his swords and a small sack. "Yes, I've seen them,"

"Eventually, a few years passed and after countless trips to the Earth Kingdom, I approached my father with the idea to conquer Ba Sing Se. We then planned together for months until we were finally ready, and when Lu Ten was fourteen, he and I were sent by Fire Lord Azulon to finally achieve victory over the Earth Kingdom, to its most infamous Major City. I then laid siege to Ba Sing Se for six hundred days, never ceasing, my wrath was at its peak. I was the leading General of the Fire Nation and I was fucking excellent at it. It was expected that Ba Sing Se would fall before my genius and power, but Dai Li agents kept that from happening; they had been a blistering thorn in our side, continuing to kill many of my men before they could react – those blasted Children of Earth were the only reason why we hadn't captured the city within mere months. You see, they would pop out of the ground and kill as many soldiers as they could and then they would vanish like smoke."

That didn't surprise Katara. "The Dai Li are quite problematic, and I can say that from personal experience."

"Yes, you do know, don't you? In time, I had begun to grow weary of the continuous fighting and thus, I became sloppy." Iroh shook his head bitterly, "I decided to journey to the front lines to morally support my men, and because of my arrogance, I was ambushed by dozens of earthbending soldiers, Dai Li amongst them. I killed most of them, but one had slipped my gaze." Fists clenched, and the air became hot, bearing down on Katara. "Lu Ten, my only son, my pride and joy jumped in front of the boulder that had been meant to crush me." Iroh had begun to weep, and Katara followed his example, tears spilling down her cheeks; the raw sorrow in Iroh's voice was tangible. "He died in my arms, his very life's blood staining my own hands. He had only been sixteen years old, still a whole life ahead of him to live and marry and have children of his own. But because of his father's mistakes, his life had been snuffed out like a damned candle." He said softly and wiped his eyes, "In my rage, I shot lightning continuously at the outer wall until I finally broke through, but that was all. I could have then easily taken Ba Sing Se, but I was too drained, too distraught. To the Fire Nation's horror, I soon ordered our troops to retreat and because of this act of spinelessness, as many believed, I received scorn from many. Many had thought, my father included, that the death of my son would motivate me to slaughter Ba Sing Se, razing it to the ground. They were wrong, though. I wanted nothing to do with the Great War after that and I disappeared, wandering the Earth Kingdom in search for something unattainable. I had heard the news that my father died and that afterward, my brother had usurped the Dragon's Throne ahead of me. My father's death was a shock and after consideration, especially after I had heard that Fire Lord Azulon's dying wish was that my brother succeed him on the Dragon's Throne, I realized that he had been murdered, more than likely by my own brother. I could have returned to the Fire Nation, challenging my brother to an Agni Kai but I didn't. I was on a quest for death. One day, after refusing to consume any food or water for many days and after I had fallen into an exhausted, delirious sleep, I woke up in the Spirit World."

"I had always thought that only Aang could enter the Spirit World," she whispered in shock.

Iroh smiled but sorrow was evident. "The Avatar can enter the Spirit World at will whenever he wants, no matter what is happening around him. But it wasn't my will that had pulled me into the Spirit World."

"Then whose was it?"

"Avatar Roku's spirit was sitting across from me when I woke up in the Spirit World, a Pai Sho board between us, Lady Katara." Katara's lips parted in shock, but Iroh continued. "I had thought that he was going to be my torment, but he only wished to help me. He then said,  _'Your continued path will not bring you peace, even when you meet your wife and son. There are those in the Mortal Realm, those who specifically carry my blood, who still need your help. My great-grandchildren's destinies will be trial after trial and Zuko will need you there to help him break through his father's poisonous words. You needn't take my word for it, though. He will tell you the truth.'_  Then I looked to the side and there, sitting next to me, the one who was playing Pai Sho with Avatar Roku, was Fire Lord Sozin."

Katara's jaw dropped, "What? Why would Avatar Roku be willing for Sozin to attempt to corrupt you?"

"Because the Fire Lord Sozin who I had met in the Spirit World wasn't the monster who he had become, or the pain-inflictor he showed to the other nations – and whom I had met in my early years. He looked burdened, and he spoke to me, and ever since then, I've claimed that my grandfather died more of loneliness than any sickness or old age."

"What did Fire Lord Sozin tell you?"

"He told me to help redeem him, declaring this: _'I was a harbinger of death, of a horrific war that still ravages the Mortal Realm. I was a conqueror who sired more conquerors in my son and in you and your brother, my grandson. But Prince Zuko and Princess Azula, they can begin a different era, choose to become more than their forefathers' actions. They will feel the urge to conquer, it's in their blood, it's part of their inheritance, but with the blood of my best friend in their veins, the Avatar himself, they can learn to conquer over those urges to become conquerors over others, over the Four Nations, finally being free from this curse of darkness.'"_  The words shocked her, but Iroh didn't give her a chance to speak. "I think that my grandfather, after his death, saw what he had done to the world and he regretted it; his eyes were finally opened he saw without depths of lust for war and blood. And when I read his final testament, it cemented my belief, specifically when it said:  _'As I feel my own life dimming, I can't help but think of a time when everything was so much brighter.'_  My grandfather was many things, but at the heart of all of his paradoxical contradictions, had been a fierce desire to be remembered."

"He succeeded, then," she said bitterly.

"You're right, Lady Katara, he did, but I had the chance to help redeem his legacy, my own bloodline. After Fire Lord Sozin practically begged me to redeem him, he vanished. Avatar Roku then placed his hand on my shoulder and we appeared in the Gardens of the Dead." Tears welled in Iroh's eyes and Katara instinctively knew what happened. "Lu Ten and my wife were there, and I talked with them: my beloved son, my boy who was killed trying to save my life, and my beautiful Natsumi. They helped me realize that while both of their lives were finished, mine was not yet; I still had a journey to complete and I remembered my nephew – but not enough of my niece. My son then told me something that I'll never forget, a wisdom that I have yet to gain:  _'Death is not the opposite of life, father, but a part of it. My time is over – and mother's, too - but our legacies won't be ash and bone if you don't let them be. We will never be truly dead to you, father, if you never forget us. We will always exist if you hold us in the memory of your heart.'_  Afterward, Roku sent me back to my body and I woke up, immediately drinking water and eating some fire flakes that I had procured."

"Then you returned to the Fire Nation, right?" She asked after several moments, trying to imagine if she could do the same, talk to her mother.

"No, not quite, Lady Katara. After I had woken up, I was guilt-ridden because I could have stayed with my beloved family, but I didn't. I contemplated killing myself many times and traveled. During my suicidal wanderings, King Bumi, Avatar Aang's friend, found me and recommended me to the Order of the White Lotus. It was perfect, you see? If I wasn't accepted by the Order, they would kill me, deeming my death a reparation for all of the blood that had been brutally shed by me, my father, and my grandfather before me. Then, if they did kill me, I could be reunited with my family, my mother, my son, my wife, my father, and my grandfather, no matter if my life wasn't yet completed. But if I was accepted, I could help to put an end to the Great War, redeeming my bloodline. And as you know, Lady Katara, I was accepted and through bitter work to gain trust, I rose to the rank of Grandmaster of Fire."

Katara wondered if she could join the White Lotus organization. Since the Order is under the Avatar's control, Aang would probably give her his blessing. But then again, after this morning and last night, she highly doubted that Aang would want anything to do with her. Shaking her head, trying to shake off of those thoughts, she asked a question. "Is that when you decided to return home, then?"

"Yes, it was, and when I did finally return to my home, things were different, Lady Katara, so very different. Princess Ursa was gone, my father was dead, my brother was Fire Lord, and the Noble Houses scorned me, citing my failure at Ba Sing Se." Iroh turned to her, golden eyes deadly serious. "Zuko and Azula lived in such fear. You know Azula to have a great unable-to-decipher-anything-from face, but it was easy to see that she was terrified at times, if you know what to look for. Things then escalated until Zuko was banished and you surely know the rest."

Katara sat in silence, absorbing the incredible story she just heard, and she thought of Zuko and the anger that gripped him about her. She decided to confront the problem by asking the person who knew Zuko best: Iroh. She looked to the Dragon of the West and saw a pot of tea in front of him. She had no idea where he acquired it. She truly believed that Iroh almost loved tea as much as he loved Zuko, almost.

He was sipping a cup when he noticed her gaze, "Quite the tale, isn't it, Lady Katara?"

Katara nodded, "Yes, yes, it was. Thank you for sharing… I wanted to ask you something, if I could." She began hesitantly.

Iroh looked at her curiously, "What is it, my dear? I'll try to answer to the best of my ability."

Katara wet her lips, gathering her courage and rushed out. "Zuko is mad at me."

Iroh calmly took another sip of his tea, "Yes, he is,"

"You know?"

"Of course," Iroh seemed insulted.

Katara sighed, "I know why he is mad, but why is he so mad? I don't understand," she looked imploringly at her companion.

Iroh stared at the Turtle Ducks for a moment, inhaling slowly. "My nephew had never had any friends during his childhood. The only people he knew were: his father, his mother, his grandfather, me, Lu Ten, and Azula. While he would often play with Azula and Lu Ten, they were not friends, they were family. There's a crucial difference, Lady Katara, you know?"

"But what about Mai and Ty Lee? They were his friends! And, by the way, where are they? I haven't seen either of them."

"Mai and Ty Lee were never Zuko's friends, Lady Katara." He said adamantly, "They were Azula's friends and that was all." He tilted his head, "Then, to answer your second question, Mai and Ty Lee were banished by my nephew for treason many years ago."

"What?" Katara exclaimed.

"The only thing that King Kuei of Ba Sing Se had wanted for reparations after the Great War were for the conquerors of Ba Sing Se to be handed over to him. My niece's mental health was a concern and thus, she had never been sent over. The ladies, Mai and Ty Lee escaped before their transfer to Ba Sing Se. Because they had fled, my nephew had to publicly denounce them, banishing them and exiling them as traitors to the Fire Lord." Iroh refilled his cup. "My nephew has never trusted easily, Lady Katara, never. There have been few he has ever trusted with his life: me, Ursa, Azula at one point, Lu Ten, and your group. When the Great War ended, Aang was the only person who chose to remain in contact with Zuko."

Katara cringed at the audible anger in Iroh's voice and it chilled her to her core. Iroh had always been gentle and calm and it was difficult to remember that the man next to her had been feared by the entire Earth Kingdom for a decade. But now, cowering under his steely gaze, it wasn't hard to remember, not at all. "And we broke the trust," she said softly.

"Yes, you did. I myself wasn't around for the past years; I had been too narrow-minded and only thought of the Jasmine Dragon instead of Zuko after the Great War had ended. He needed me here in the Fire Nation and I wasn't there, to my greatest shame and regret. And although we both wrote each other constantly, there was a big difference between a conversation on paper and one face-to-face. But even when my mind had been occupied with selfish desires, I had feared for him. My nephew had no one, especially after Avatar Aang departed from the Fire Nation to aid the other nations in their rebuilding efforts. He had no friends and his only faithful companion for many years was Azula herself, whom he would visit every day in her prison, from what I've been told. So, when Zuko wrote me, revealing that he had finally found his mother, I was so happy, Lady Katara. And it wasn't just because- "

"What?" She interrupted in shock, "Ursa's alive? She's not dead?"

"Yes," he looked over at her in bemusement, golden eyes considering. "Dowager Fire Lady Ursa was with us last night during our meal."

"…Ursa was the one who was sitting next to Azula," she breathed out softly in realization. She had just thought that it had been an unfortunate advisor or servant who had been forced to sit next to Zuko's bitch of a sister. But now, she realized how blind she had truly been. The two had looked almost identical, except who-she-now-knew-was Ursa was older and more mature-looking. The resemblance was  _so_  obvious, too obvious! How could she have not seen it?

Because she hadn't wanted to; deep down, she must have known that the similarities were too great, that the utter vehemence at which Ursa glared at Katara and Sokka was too great for anyone but of familial relation to Azula. Instead, she had refused to contemplate it, coming to the obvious truth. For all of the resemblance between Zuko and his father, there was just as much resemblance between Azula and her mother.

"I didn't know," she murmured, hands clenching in the fabric of her gown.

"Zuko didn't tell you," Iroh's sigh was audible. "I wish that I was surprised, Lady Katara, but I am not. My nephew can keep a grudge better than anyone who I've ever encountered; he's quite the grudge-holder."

"Well, I'm glad that he found her," Katara smiled insincerely, her words tainted with false happiness to cover her growing envy. They had shared a connection, she and Zuko, with the loss of their mothers. But now, Zuko somehow got his mother back in his life, and all that Katara was left with of her dead and bone-blackened mother was a necklace. She wanted to be happy for him, she truly did, but anger was rising in the back of her throat, simmering in a cauldron of jealous rage.

"You should be happy for my nephew, not jealous, Lady Katara." Iroh frowned deeply, golden eyes shadowed with disappointment.

"It's not fair!" She exploded, "Why does Zuko get his mom back? Why can't I get mine back? That is the one thing that I have wished for every night since the day she was murdered!" The water in the pond was beginning to swirl slowly, reacting to her emotions.

"Life has never been fair, Lady Katara – it's an irrefutable truth. My nephew, after the hard life that he has lived and with all of the bitter experiences dealt at him, deserves to have his mother back in his life."

"And I don't?" She hissed out dangerously, glaring at Iroh, unconcerned that she was challenging the Dragon of the West, the Fire Lord's beloved uncle. "Zuko was born to royalty! I am just a peasant and deserve to have my mother back, not Zuko!"

She almost sprang back when Iroh's eyes narrowed into slits, specks of golden flames burning in his deadly-looking orbs. "Be thankful, Lady Katara, that I am merciful, especially to a woman who knows not of which she speaks, who remains ignorant of the truth. Tell me something: did my nephew deserve to live in fear for years of his own father?" Katara swallowed and looked away, which seemed to make Iroh even angrier. "No, he did not! Did he deserve to have his face permanently scarred by his father for merely speaking out of turn, then banished to hunt a phantomic Avatar? NO!" Iroh was heaving and Katara feared he might actually kill her – the look in his eyes was frightening.

That's when what he had said washed over her, pounding in her ears with the force of an angry Earthbender, causing her heart to race and her pace to pale, a horrified mass of disbelief.

"Wait… Ozai is the reason why Zuko has his scar?" Her lips parted in shock.

Iroh's eyes widened with dread, "Oh, dear, I believe that my nephew will be quite furious with me. I had wrongly assumed that you already knew." Iroh frowned at her, golden eyes remembering an event that she could scarcely even imagine. "Yes, Ozai is who brought his flame-filled hand down to my nephew's face, marking him forever, fastening a brand for all to see. Zuko was twelve years old, a few weeks from thirteen, when it happened. That was why my nephew was so fearful for Avatar Aang on Sozin's Comet; if my brother was willing to maim his own twelve-year-old son for simply speaking out of turn, what would he do to a twelve-year-old Avatar who he had thought who was the only being in both Realms who could end all of his glorious plans of world rebirth for only Fire?"

Katara gasped as harsh tears flooded her vision. No, that couldn't be right, it couldn't! No one was that cruel, but then again, the topic of conversation was Fire Lord Ozai, the man who had wanted to burn the entire Earth Kingdom to ash.

She felt sick and envisioned Zuko, a twelve-year-old boy, the same age as Aang had been, kneeling before his father and receiving a scar instead. "I'm sorry," she choked out, unable to say anything else for the tears were too strong.

"Yes, now you understand why you shouldn't be envious of my nephew, Lady Katara." Iroh's steady hand gently gripped her tense and sob-wracked shoulder. "Your father, the Chief Hakoda is a good man and would  _never_  dream of laying a hand on you, Master Sokka, or your departed mother. My nephew never had that luxury – and neither did Azula. My brother abused them frequently, specifically Zuko, whom has scars all over his back and chest. It wasn't until the beginning of Zuko's banishment when I learned of what sort of monstrous child-mutilator my brother had become. Upon my discovery, I was  _so_  tempted to sail back to the Fire Nation and challenge my brother to an Agni Kai, but I didn't. And the reason was that Zuko hadn't yet realized that what Ozai had done to him and his sister and his mother was evil and wicked, something that should sentence my brother to the thorniest area in the Gardens of the Dead. Don't get me wrong, Lady Katara, I disciplined Lu Ten just as my father disciplined me, but Fire Lord Azulon – and Fire Lord Sozin, for that matter, as well – would never scar their own children. Ozai, though, became cruel and seared his own children's skin. Because of my nephew's upbringing, of which I had remained obliviously unaware of for far too long, Zuko had been of the mindset that every parent treated all of their kids that way."

Katara felt insurmountable guilt crash upon her and the tears spilled down her cheeks, splashing against the grass with the force of boulders. "Why did he never say anything?" She whispered, "We would have helped him, I would have!"

Iroh only raised an eyebrow and stared at her pointedly. "Would you share something so personal to a group of people whom you hardly knew, Lady Katara? Make no mistake, my nephew willingly joined your group to end the Great War, but upon his arrival at the Western Air Temple, he was prepared for death. He didn't trust any of you except Avatar Aang, and it was a trust, I see, that was well-placed; the Avatar has been the only good and steadfast friend who my nephew has had in his life."

"What kind of person am I?" She wondered aloud, tears streaming down her face. "Why do I keep… messing up?"

"I think that the root of your problem is that you haven't learned a simple truth yet, Lady Katara: there are people who have lost far more than you, far more than you ever will." Iroh's voice was calm and she felt the familiar rage thrash in her heart, but this time, she listened instead of reacting. "Think about it, Lady Katara, truly think about it. You had your Tribe, your father, your brother, and your grandmother. Zuko had no one except me, Azula when they had been children, and his mother until she disappeared. And by the time of his banishment, only I was there for him. That's much less than you, and if you take my niece into account, she had it worse than Zuko did for she never had anyone after Dowager Fire Lady Ursa had fled, something which I truly regret. I should have spent more time with her before it had been too late; maybe things could have been different, then."

Katara frowned, "Fled? Why did Zuko and… Azula's mom have to flee?"

Iroh's lips parted and his eyes closed, "You are quite perceptive, Lady Katara, in spite of your ability to ignore logic." His golden eyes opened, and she was struck by the severity in them. "What I am about to reveal to you is something that must never leave your lips or be written by your hand. If you are ever caught with this knowledge without the Fire Lord's expressed permission, not even your position as Princess of your Tribe could save you from execution. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand," she leaned forward, overcoming her shock at being ranked a 'Princess', aching to understand the history of Zuko's life.

"I have pieced the full story together from my nephew and sister's recollections and I must say that my brother is a depraved monstrosity of a man. After my son's death at Ba Sing Se, and my subsequent failure to conquer the Major City, Ozai demanded an audience with our father, and is was there where he requested to be named the heir to the Dragon's Throne because, in his eyes, my line was dead and that Agni himself had shown me disfavor, allowing my only son to die."

Her jaw dropped slightly, lips parted. "That's awful,"

"Yes, I agree, and my father had thought so, too." Iroh's voice became softer, eyes dimming. "My father was going to punish my brother severely, forcing him to know how it feels to lose a firstborn son, his own heir."

Katara's eyes bulged from their sockets, "Zuko's own grandfather ordered his death?"

Iroh smiled tightly, "No, but that is how it seemed, didn't it? Azula had been listening to the entire conversation and as a result, my sister caught word of it. She went to my brother, demanding to know what had happened and Ozai, the conniving monster, had said that he was ordered to murder Zuko. The then-Princess Ursa would have nothing of it and schemed with my brother to kill Fire Lord Azulon." Katara gasped, but Iroh continued. "She managed to kill my father, a truly impressive feat, and paved the way for Ozai to sit on the Dragon's Throne."

"Th- that's… I can't even imagine how you feel," she said at last, still shocked by the story. "Zuko's mom killed his… grandfather?"

"Yes, that is the truth," he smiled sadly. "But that isn't the truth in regard to my father's seeming cruelty. Apparently, Ozai had twisted our father's words, convincing Princess Ursa that Zuko was to be murdered on Fire Lord Azulon's orders."

"That isn't what he had meant, then?"

Iroh shook his head, "Quite the opposite, actually. Zuko was never to die; he was to be taken away from Ozai and given to me, for me to raise as my own son and heir – and Azula, too." Katara's breath stilled. How could Zuko's father be so… devious? "My brother was to be disowned and most likely exiled, and I would have married Princess Ursa, producing more children at my father's behest."

"Zuko, and I suppose Azula, have both had tough lives, harder than my own," she admitted softly.

"Good, you are finally beginning to glimpse the truth that has evaded you for so long. Now take it a step further, Lady Katara. There is someone else who has lost far more than you ever possibly could, far more than anyone: the Avatar. Avatar Aang has no one. He lost his entire race." Iroh stressed, staring at her, and she was unable to look away. "Can you even imagine it: your entire village wiped out, the Northern Tribe exterminated, and no more Waterbenders in the entire world? No, you can't." His golden eyes were understanding but callous at the same time. "I heard what Avatar Aang said earlier this morning when he went into the Avatar State – I wouldn't be surprised if everyone in the entire Caldera heard it. As he had said, he does understand your loss and grief, but he understands it far more than you ever will."

Sobs wracked her frame and she put a hand to her cover her mouth. "I'm so selfish," she choked out, tears blurring her vision.

"You used to be, but you don't need to be anymore, Lady Katara. I can understand, I think that anyone could understand why you never came to these conclusions when you were younger. You had been just a child, fighting in the Great War that you should have had no business being a part of. But now, the time for ignorance is over, it needs to be snuffed out. I believe this fight with  _Dark_  will be far more difficult than Ozai. All of us, your group included, need to have everything on the table. No secrets or bitterness among us. All of you are adults and it is time that you begin acting like it."

"How could I have never realized how selfish and thoughtless that I was being? I've been blind all this time."

"Because you were a child. Your entire group was children, and although Zuko was the eldest, he was only sixteen when the Great War ended and when he had ascended to the Dragon's Throne. You are an adult now and have been for several years. It is time to start fresh. You will have a lot of work to earn my nephew's forgiveness, but I know that when you succeed, it will have been worth it." Iroh winked, and his gaze was drawn past her and Katara turned around.

Zuko was behind her, staring at her from the beginning of the Royal Garden.

Katara had no idea how he had snuck up on them or how much he had heard, but it didn't matter. She now knew what she had to do, so standing to her feet slowly, she walked across the soft grass towards Zuko.

He looked at her approaching form warily but didn't make any moves to stop her. When she was close enough to feel his breath on her skin, she smiled softly, craning her head upwards to stare into his golden eyes – one where heavy scarring was apparent and now, she knew how he had received it. "I know you are angry with me, and you have every right to be but know this: I will gain back your trust. No matter how long it takes, I will have your trust back, I swear."

Katara smiled at him one last time and left the Royal Garden, and as she stepped into the hall, she felt better than she had in a long time, a refreshing relief. The realization that Iroh had helped her face had opened her eyes, and now, she swore that she would be better than who she had been before.

"Excuse me, Lady Katara, but do you need help?"

She looked to her right and saw the Imperial Firebenders. "Yes, I do, thank you. How do I get to the Dining Hall from here?"

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Are we there yet, Twinkletoes?" Toph's brash voice assaulted his ears, snapping him out of his meditation.

Aang sighed from his position on Appa's head and looked back towards Azula, who was looking at him in amusement, one brow raised. "Yes, how much longer Avatar?" She questioned innocently.

"Not much further," he stressed. "Less than an hour at most."

"Ugh! Why did I come with you two again?" Toph dramatically cried out, falling on her face, Momo's chirps echoing. "This is a nightmare!"

"I believe it was because you had been worried about the Avatar's wellbeing," Azula smirked. "Plus, Aang pretty much ordered you to accompany us."

"Hey, help me out here. Am I doing it right?" Toph was pulling her eyelid and attempting to roll her eyes, causing Momo to erupt with laughter.

Azula laughed and Aang wanted her to gift him with that sound more often. "Yes, well done, Toph," she mockingly clapped her hands. "Perhaps, since you are so keen on whining during the entire trip, you would like to intimately feel the whine of the wind after I push you off of the saddle?"

"You wouldn't dare!" Toph glared and Aang smothered his laughter. "You know, Lightning Psycho, one of these days, your little quips are going to get you a bite on the ass."

Aang's gaze snapped to Azula as she crossed her arms, smirking. "Well, as long as the man's handsome, I suppose that I can deal with that." His eyes widened, and he coughed slightly, briefly pondering the brief flush of rage at her words.

Toph gagged, features paling. "All right, all right! You win! That was fuckin' disgusting," she shivered, scooting further away from Azula, who smirked victoriously.

The Firebender jumped onto Appa's head, balance perfect. "So, what's the plan?"

"I thought that I told you," he raised an eyebrow at her. "You'll be the prisoner to lower Kuei's guard and then we'll learn the truth."

"Yes, I know that, but you're not going to leave me a prisoner of the Earth, are you?" The last part was whispered and Aang softened at the slight vulnerable echo in her eyes.

"No, I'm not," he gripped her shoulder. "I promise, okay? I'll just tell them that, once it's all over, you've paid for your crimes."

Azula smiled lightly, "And when they don't agree?"

Aang sighed, "I'll force them to stand down. I'm no longer playing games. If they're working with  _Dark,_  like I suspect they are, then there will be no restraint on my part."

"Well said," she commended, looking delighted by his words and Aang truly wondered if she was a good influence on him, but he didn't care.

He was an adult now and he wanted her in his life, damning the other nations and their leaders.

Appa roared, his head tilting to the side and Aang gripped Azula's arm, keeping her from falling off, "He says that we're here," he looked down over the side.

Ba Sing Se.

"And he was right, we're here," Aang informed his companions.

"Finally!" Toph's jubilation was tangible and Appa growled in irritation.

"It's alright, bud, she just doesn't understand. One day she will, though, I promise." Aang soothed his friend. He turned to Azula, "I need you to be in chains, okay?"

She raised a brow, golden eyes gleaming, "My, Avatar, I hadn't known that you could treat a lady so poorly."

"Just this once," he retorted. "There are chains in my sack, and before you ask, your brother gave them to me. Make certain that they look tight. If things progress unseemly, then I'll destroy them, okay? And also, it is going to seem like, to them, that your bending is gone."

Azula blinked and then nodded her head. "Very well," she jumped back into the saddle, the sound of chains dangling in the air echoing.

Appa quickly landed in the Upper Ring of the city, and almost immediately, before Aang had even time to react, Dai Li agents surrounded them.

"I am here to speak with King Kuei," he jumped off of Appa. "I have brought a prisoner of Fire with me, but she is not a gift. She is a sign of my willingness to end this conflict of his with Fire Lord Zuko. Princess Azula will not be harmed in any way, okay? If she is, I will be most displeased." He leaped back into the saddle and before Azula could react, he picked her up in his arms and hopped off, holding her in his arms probably a moment too long before he released her, chains visible for everyone to see. "Her firebending will also not be a problem. So, do you understand my orders, Dai Li?"

"Yes, Avatar Aang, we will now lead you to King Kuei." The Dai Li bowed and turned around in perfect unison.

Foreboding rose within Aang; something in the air felt off, he could feel it in his gut and he had a feeling that things were going to, inevitably, turn ugly. His vision of blood being shed flashed in before his eyes, but he swore that that wouldn't happen because he was ready for anything that Kuei could potentially throw at him.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Azula observed the Earth King of Ba Sing Se with an impressed eye. Kuei, the man who she could have killed years ago, was no longer the pathetic and spineless ruler he had once been. No, now, he had a steely gaze and was immovable in his demands, a true Child of Earth: he wanted Azula's head on a pike and would accept nothing less.

She was reminded of something that she had once overheard one of her father's advisors whisper to his heir.  _'Here's a word of advice, my heir: I have only ever told the Fire Lord what he should do, not what he could do; for if the Dragon knows its own strength, no man would ever be able to control him.'_  The man had been killed by her father only a few days later because Azula had reported his words to him, and she regretted her actions terribly now; she had been, truly, her father's daughter. But the logic behind the now-dead advisor's words was true. King Kuei of Ba Sing Se now knew his power as a ruler and had become drunk on its power, unwilling to consider a future where Azula's head wasn't on a pike.

Thankfully, though, Aang continuously refused, his own Earthbender shining, demanding to know why Kuei so desperately, after many years, wanted Azula in his possession. Now, after a tense silence had enveloped the room, the Avatar looked at Toph, "Anything?"

The blind Earthbender frowned and shook her head. "I don't like this," she whispered, fists clenching.

And Azula didn't like it either. King Kuei was surrounded by the Council of Five, several of the most powerful Earthbenders in the world and incredibly seasoned Generals, men who shouldn't be witnesses to a hopeful-treaty between Earth and Fire endorsed by the Avatar. Something was going to happen, but it was only a matter of when it would, indeed, happen.

"Avatar Aang, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation was a notorious criminal in the Great War, the daughter of Fire Lord Ozai himself. Evidence has shown that most of her crimes were against the Earth Kingdom. Release her into our custody – we deserve to put her on trial." Kuei's voice analytically began to list her crimes and Azula was impressed by his memory, and more than a little ashamed of her former deeds.

Aang interrupted, "King Kuei, as I have already stated previously, that is not going to happen, no matter the crimes. Princess Azula has paid for them already, believe me." Aang was unwavering in his protest. His eyes were stormy and Azula was reminded of how intimidating he could look if he wanted to.

Finally, she sighted it, the crack in Kuei's carefully constructed façade. It was only a brief glimpse, but it was enough. It had shown her the evaporated composure, revealing the malignity that was hidden beneath. "Well, then, Avatar Aang, consider her release into our custody as a… gesture of goodwill. After all, the Earth Kingdom has lost more than any of the other nations from the Great War."

She saw Toph wince and Azula herself was shocked that Kuei would be willing, would have the gall to say something so outrageously profane to the Avatar's face. And honestly, she would admire him for it if he weren't so stupid.

Aang's jaw dropped, "What?" He whispered, "No, you… what did you just say?"

Kuei steeled his fingers together, even going so far as to roll his eyes if Azula wasn't mistaken, "Release Princess Azula into our custody, Avatar Aang, since the Earth Kingdom has lost more than any of the other nations from the Great War, especially the Water Tribes."

"Do you forget?" Aang hissed, body shaking with barely restrained anger. "The Air Nomads have been killed down to only one: me. Consider your words before you speak them, King Kuei."

Azula watched as Ba Sing Se's King frowned deeply, "But the Air Nomads can be repopulated by you, Avatar Aang. It is not my fault that you have refused to spread your seed across the now-Three Nations. But it is different for the Earth Kingdom!"

"My apologies, then, pray do, enlighten me," the Avatar growled out, gray eyes colder than the Poles.

"How many Children of Earth have been slaughtered by the Fire Nation?" King Kuei had risen to his feet, rage carved deep into his flesh as he pointed his finger at Aang – the sight would have made Azula laugh if she weren't, admittedly, worried. "How much land and animals were razed to the ground? Ba Sing Se was conquered by this woman, the second to do so after Chin the Conqueror! And her uncle, the Dragon of the West had almost accomplished the feat years previously!"

She raised a brow in bewilderment, wondering what Kuei was trying to do. "Doesn't that defeat the purpose of your argument, King Kuei?" She stepped forward, ignoring Aang's pleading look to be silent. "All of the people that were slaughtered, just as the Air Nomads were, can be, as you so crudely put it, repopulated. Land and animals are insignificant compared to actual humans, so that was another weak point. And lastly, you made it far too simple to conquer Ba Sing Se – to actually enter the city was laughably easy!"

"Shut your mouth, you wicked-tainted whore!" Kuei spat, the Council of Five scowling at her, their own fists clenched so tightly that the skin had turned white as snow. "The Earth Kingdom is strong, its Children even stronger! Raising strong is hard, though, especially when so many have died! But the Air Nomads? They were weak and unable to even raise a hand against the Children of Fire, but the Earth Kingdom held steadfast for a century! The Air Nomads- "

Aang's eyes and tattoos glowed brilliantly and he roared, fire scorching as the air became unbearably warm, even for Azula.  **"You dare? My people were not weak – they were stronger than yours will ever be. If they had wanted to, they could have slaughtered Sozin's armies! I have lost everything, you insolent worm!"**  His voice, that wasn't his own but a combined unison of all of those who had come before him, echoed throughout the room terribly and Ba Sing Se's King seemed to suddenly realize who it was who he was dealing with as the winds became stronger and cracks splintered through the stone, spiderwebbing across the entire throne room in an ominous omen for destruction. Everyone was being pushed back from the sheer force of the gales of wind, the whip of air a lashing to the skin.

Azula looked at Aang in awe, just as she had when the peasants had continued to insult her the other day. He was true, absolute power in the flesh, but he was also quite frightening, terrifyingly so. Now, she was staring at a being of unparalleled strength in this world and the next, capable of razing nations to nothingness, avenging his fallen kin. With only a mere glimpse of the glowing white orbs of power where his beautiful gray eyes should be, she knew that her most effective lightning strike, even under the power of Sozin's Comet, would be futile. She realized that she didn't like this lifetimes-powered version of Aang, the one who could eviscerate the King of Ba Sing Se, one of the most powerful men in the entire world, with a mere glance. Right now, Aang wasn't the man who had listened to her, comforted her, and had given her true peace – he was the Avatar, Master of the Four Elements, the only being who her great-grandfather, grandfather, and father all greatly feared, and rightly so based on what Azula was seeing.

She risked a look towards Toph and the Earthbender's eyes were wide with dread and fear. She had once been almost certain that nothing could scare the girl, but if there could be one thing that could ever achieve the terrified expression on her blood-drained face, the milky eyes that bulged from their sockets, the Avatar State would be, more than understandably, the culprit.

Suddenly, the blinding glow faded and was replaced by icy eyes. "You will not ever say something like that again. Do you understand, Kuei of Ba Sing Se?"

Azula couldn't help it, especially when Aang ceased to refer to Kuei as the King. She laughed, all her schooling about proper etiquette going out the window, and amazingly, she didn't care.

It was funny.

Everyone but Aang, who smiled at her, ignored her presence, instead staring at the Avatar. "Princess Azula is under my protection. Any threat against her is a threat against me." He finally turned back to Kuei. "I trust that you understand what this means."

Azula admired the Avatar's strategy. By simply putting her under his protection, the Earth Kingdom couldn't acquire her without the Avatar's rage being directed at them. She refused to dwell on why the thought of her being under his protection made her feel happy.

"Twinkletoes, there are Dai Li agents everywhere underneath us!" Toph whispered urgently.

"I know, Toph, I feel them," he glared at Kuei and tried one last time at diplomacy. "You will rescind the threat of war against the Fire Nation."

"We cannot do that, Avatar Aang," Kuei turned to the Council of Five. "Generals, you know what to do. Order the men to attack."

"Are you sure about that decision?" Azula cut in before anything could happen, wondering about their intelligence. Hadn't they heard of the stories, or had that just been Fire Nation that shared the tales of strength that only an Avatar could author? "Haven't you heard the legends of the Avatar's power? You should all be kneeling before him, or have you forgotten how to do so – how dare you? You have insulted him, the World Spirit in human form!" She purposefully provoked the notiont that Aang was the World Spirit incarnate, especially since the Earth Kingdom created the lie. "You surely know that a power beyond any other, in either of the Realms, is held in his hands, don't you? Right now, as you steadfastly insult and debase his power, legions of pestilence are gathering in the sky, awaiting the command of the last Airbender, the Avatar. And the legions will strike, claiming your unborn and unbegotten children, your sons and heirs! Bend to your knees and beg for forgiveness because every moment that you continue to stand – or sit on a throne that is insignificant next to the Avatar – is a threatening and perilous treason. Your defiance will soon stain Ba Sing Se with your blood – and the blood of other Children of Earth, too! Know the legends, fool, or it will be your downfall."

Kuei's face twisted into a fierce scowl, sneering at her "Pretty words, wicked-tainted whore, but that is all they are, mere words. Man prefers legend that obscure the truth, don't they? So, I don't believe that the Avatar will do anything. After all, he is a pacifist, a fucking Air Nomad, who, as I stated earlier, were too weak for this world." He glanced at the Council of Five once more, nodding his head adamantly, "Do it, Generals,"

"Dai Li, kill the blind girl! Capture the Avatar and the Princess Azula!" General How ordered, smashing his foot into the ground, sending a boulder at Aang, who simply punched through it.

Azula's eyes widened as Aang leaped in front of her, ripping the metal chains off of her in one smooth movement, eyes stormy. "Do what you must" he whispered and launched the metal chains at the approaching Dai Li agents, forcing them out of the battle. Before her eyes, he then leaped forward towards Kuei and the Council of Five. Not wasting a moment, she jumped out of the way of one of the Dai Li agent's rock gloves. She blasted fire at the three agents that had appeared before her, smiling at the looks of fear and shock on their faces – she did have her firebending.

"Why are you doing this?" Aang exclaimed while batting aside every agent who challenged him.

"Vaatu wants you alive, Avatar – and the Princess, too, for whatever reason. He promised us that the Earth Kingdom will have its revenge against the Fire Nation! After all, you haven't done so, Avatar!" Kuei sneered, gnashing his teeth together in a display of feral savagery, a much different man from the one so many years ago.

"You're a fool, Kuei! He's just using you, all of you!" Aang jumped up to the ceiling and dove down like a fallen star.

Azula's eyes widened as she realized what he was about to do. Right before he landed, she shot jets of flame out of her feet so that she wouldn't be hit by the resulting shockwave, and she dimly, out of the corner of her eye, saw Toph raise a pillar of earth that carried her to the ceiling, keeping her safe, as well.

Aang smashed into the ground, waves of the earth exploding outwards in devastating speed, and the entire palace trembled, walls and roofs and pillars all crumbling to dust. All of the Dai Li, Council of Five, and Kuei crashed into the wall painfully from the resulting wave of earth and wind.

"Let's go!" Toph shouted, dashing out of the now-ruined palace. "Even we can't fight against hundreds of earthbending Masters!"

Azula was pretty sure that number was an exaggeration and if Aang went into the Avatar State, he would have an easy time defeating the hundreds of earthbending Masters, but she doubted that he would because of his stormy emotions. She hoped that something would push him into that fearsome divine form, though. She wanted to see it again, watch the Dai Li and Council of Five and Kuei all quaver before him.

They raced outside, fighting off the swarms of agents of Earth, and jumped onto Appa, "Get us out of here, buddy, come on! Yip Yip! Go, go!" The Sky Bison slowly rose in the air, above Ba Sing Se, but he hadn't been fast enough.

Boulders, with metal spikes embedded that sought bloodshed, were chucked repeatedly towards Appa. Azula's eyes widened as one sailed towards Appa's head and she agilely leaped onto his head, bypassing a distracted Aang and unleashed a massive fireblast, the largest that she had summoned since the Great War, destroying the boulder. Appa roared in thanks and she nodded her head even though he couldn't see her. Instead, she looked back towards Aang.

He was in the saddle, standing tall and doing his best to deflect the incoming projectiles, but with hundreds of boulders coming all at once, and with Toph unable to see, he missed a few. Azula tried to help but that last fireblast had taken a lot of energy – she was out of shape, she realized with great shame. She wasn't much aid to Aang, though. Her fire was weak compared to his own, and the air that howled and smashed boulders into small pebbles seemed to do a good job.

She realized that he had never fully battled her during the Great War or during their sparring sessions on Ember Island. Otherwise, she would have long been dead.

"Twinkletoes, you gotta get us out of here!" Toph cried out, gripping the saddle tightly, and Aang's head swiveled towards her for a brief moment, and then, the winds of fate deemed it time to act.

Because of Aang's distraction, several of the boulders smashed into Appa's side, and while Azula managed to blast lightning into one of them, the Sky Bison roared in pain because too many connected with his flesh, blood spurting into the open air, falling down to the earth like rain. Azula fell off Appa's head as they all started to fall out of the sky. Instead of panicking, she blasted jets of flames out of her feet, propelling her back into the saddle.

Aang had jumped off Appa with a cry of deep despair and rage, and as she and Toph both held onto the grips in the saddle with their utmost strength, their descent gradually slowed. Looking over the saddle, she noticed that Aang was sitting on an air-ball far beneath them, rotating his arms with gusts of wind carrying Appa's unconscious form, gently holding the Sky Bison until Appa landed on the ground softly.

Immediately, both Azula and Toph jumped out of the saddle, seeing Aang standing in front of his best friend, staring down at him, frozen in time, realization slowly creeping into his features. Azula felt great guilt as Momo curled around Aang's shoulders, chirping small noises to rouse Appa. She had wanted something to push Aang into the Avatar State – and she knew that this would – but she had never wanted Appa to be killed, if he wasn't grievously wounded.

Azula and Toph whirled around, forming a protective shield of two bodies in front of Aang's frozen and distraught form. The two women fearlessly stared at the Dai Li that had surrounded them, Kuei and the Council of Five leading the charge, sick and triumphant smiles splitting their faces. "Don't you see? It's pointless to try and fight back, Avatar!"

All of the Dai Li and Kuei and the Council of Five were staring past them at Aang, and out of the corner of her eye, Azula noticed dread cross over Toph's features, eyes widening, blood draining from her face rapidly. She then risked a glance behind her and saw Aang collapse to his knees, quaking the ground slightly, placing a shaking hand on Appa's head.

"Appa?" He questioned brokenly, almost childishly. "Please, open your eyes, bud. Come on, open them! PLEASE!" When nothing happened, his head hung, staring at the ground that ran red with Appa's life blood and as certainly as she knew that Agni was shining, Azula knew that the Avatar State was going to emerge once again, especially when he began to shake, vibrating sporadically.

She was right as Momo screeched and darted onto her own shoulder, fleeing from his master, a foreboding omen of what was yet to come. Azula then watched as Aang's tattooed hands clenched tightly, his aura of power exploding; the winds swirled around him and Agni's great light dimmed as dark clouds gathered in the sky. A heavy downpour cascaded down from the black storm clouds overhead and the once-sunny midday had suddenly transformed into a blanket of stifling darkness. A colossal shockwave of thunder roared across the heavens, spiderwebs of lightning crackling, providing a brief pure light.

Azula and Toph stumbled as Aang's tattoos and eyes suddenly glowed in blinding power, the only constant source of pure light, the entire city of Ba Sing Se shaking, houses crumbling and earthquakes rupturing through the Walls and districts as he whirled around. The Avatar slowly rose into the air, glaring odiously down at them all, face twisted into something hateful and malignant. At the sight, Azula saw several of the Dai Li quickly, without sparing a glance to Kuei, vanish into the earth, and she felt herself dimly shake her head; those Dai Li agents were unlikely to survive the shaking of Ba Sing Se.

Toph swiftly, after balancing herself, raised a shield of stone to shield her and Azula and Momo, "He doesn't have any control," she whispered, eyes remembering something that Azula knew nothing of.

Instead, she looked out the small hole that Toph had created, watching the resulting battle. "I can see that," Azula said dryly, and, indeed, she could.

The Avatar roared, and vast plumes of fire spewed from his mouth in relentless waves of promising death, rising until Azula saw it scorch several of the birds in the sky, their carcasses smashing into the shaking Ba Sing Se, dropping between the Avatar and Children of Earth. The rain began to intensify, pinging off of the shield that Toph had created with more force than Azula had thought possible.

Watching through the hole, she observed the lingering Dai Li, Council of Five, and Kuei bombard the Avatar with all of the remaining boulders that had killed Appa, trying to slay him. But it was pointless, useless for as simply as one drew air into their lungs, the Avatar dispersed the boulders into dust and the metal spikes elongated before him, under his control. Without even a movement from his limbs, the metal spikes rushed forward and tore through bodies, piercing through the strongest Earth Kingdom armor like it was mere parchment.

Bodies collapsed to the ground and Azula watched as many of the other Dai Li agents paled greatly and tried to escape as the others had previously, but they were too late. The Avatar raised a hand, and with a twitch of his finger, the rain stopped, frozen in time. Azula could see the little droplets of water floating in the air, untethered from their planned fall to the earth. Instead, the Avatar had placed his divine power over the entire weather, controlling it. The water then surged at all of the Children of Earth, encasing them in adaptable prisons whence there would be no escape.

Then, the glowing, tattooed hands clenched tightly, and spheres of air condensed around all of the heads of the Children of Earth and Azula's eyes widened in shock when she realized that the Avatar was suffocating them all with airbending, a supposedly peaceful art.

"He's killing them," Toph breathed out, sounding horrified and scared. "Most of their hearts have already stopped."

Azula turned to her, although it was immensely difficult to look away from the Avatar's display of power. "They just killed Appa, Aang's best friend since he was a mere boy, the only living thing that he has left of his people. Kuei and company all deserve it – and more, too!" If she let some of her own anger at the Dai Li and Kuei color her voice, it didn't matter. What she spoke had been the truth.

Toph turned sightless eyes to her, "Yes, I know, and it does make sense, but I wonder what effect this will have on Aang."

She wondered as well, looking back out of the hole to witness the sight of all of the Dai Li, Council of Five, and Kuei slew by the Avatar in his rage. Knowing Aang, whatever effect that his actions incurred on him, surely, wouldn't be pretty.

Glowing eyes then turned to stare directly at her and Azula didn't even dare to move, not even blink! Her heart, for the first time in a long time, began to race with fear, as the ancient white orbs of power stared at her soul. Not knowing if the Avatar recognized her, she hesitantly called out, "Aang?"

A shudder rippled through the Avatar and he slowly twisted towards Appa's carcass, and within the blink of an eye, the Avatar had appeared beside his fallen friend, kneeling beside the Sky Bison.

Moments passed and then Toph slowly lowered the wall, and the two women and Momo all looked at Appa solemnly – the Avatar's kneeling form shielding them from the most gruesome of the Sky Bison's death-causing wounds. Azula didn't know what to do and from what she saw, neither did Toph. They both liked Appa, even Azula, especially after she had apologized to the animal, and he had slowly begun to trust her, but their feelings about him were insignificant, nothing at all compared to the bond that Aang and the Sky Bison shared.

Feeling something claw within her, wondering what would happen now because things had become so much worse than she had ever imagined, she prayed, for the first time since the night when she learned that her father was going to kill Zuzu, that the Earth Kingdom wouldn't declare war against the Avatar. And what would Aang's reaction be? How guilt-ridden would he be?

"What's he doing?" Toph's face was twisted into a solemn frown.

Azula inhaled and stepped closer, craning her head around the Avatar's form, glimpsing the sight of glowing blue water, of blood itself being bent and encouraged to multiply inside the carcass, to convince the heart to beat once more. "He's healing him," she breathed out, and they all hesitantly made their way next to Aang until they were kneeling next to him, Momo chirping softly, timidly.

"Come on, Twinkletoes. You've got this." Toph put a hand on the Avatar's shoulder but immediately winced and pulled it back.

"What?" Azula demanded, concerned that the Avatar viewed them as potential hostile threats.

Toph was staring at her hand, "When I placed my hand on his shoulder, I felt the… power that was flowing through his body – it was… too much."

Before Azula had the opportunity to place her own hand on the Avatar's shoulder to feel the unimaginable power, Appa opened his eye and stared up at them, intelligence and emotions vividly apparent in his eyes.

The harsh glow swiftly faded and Aang leaped at Appa, hugging his friend tightly as tears streamed down his face like a river, gripping the Sky Bison tightly in reassurance that he had actually succeeded and brought his friend back from death itself.

"This is too touchy for me," the Earthbender huffed out, but she contradicted herself when she stepped forward and hugged Appa, too.

Azula, after a moment, stepped forward, hesitantly placing a gentle hand on Aang's back. When he didn't shrug it off, she gained confidence and rubbed circles into his tense skin, trying to… comfort him, she supposed. She didn't understand why she felt the urge to do it, and she didn't know why she even allowed herself to give in to her urge, but it seemed that it was the correct course of action, especially when Aang almost seemed to lean into her touch. Slowly, Azula raised her other hand to pet Appa's blood-matted fur and she could have sworn that the Sky Bison winked at her.

"What are we going to do?" Toph's voice was muffled in Appa's fur but was still easily heard.

She nodded her head in consideration for it had been an excellent question. The Avatar had just murdered the King of Ba Sing Se and the most powerful generals in the entire Earth Kingdom, save for the other Generals in the other Major Cities. Looking around as she rubbed circles into Aang's back, she wondered how the Children of Earth would respond to such a slaughter, especially since Ba Sing Se itself was desolated, buildings crumbled and, undoubtedly, people in all of the districts had died in the crossfire between Kuei's agents and the Avatar.

Aang slowly, fearfully let go of his friend and wiped away at the tears in his eyes, gazing wearily towards the fallen, towards the desecration that he had caused. "We'll go to the Eastern Temple," he whispered, closing his eyes. "I need to speak with an old friend and Appa can rest there. Even though I healed everything, he needs rest." Aang ran a hand through his hair and Azula placed a soft hand on his shoulder in support. "If  _Dark_  was able to sway the Earth Kingdom to his side," he murmured, "I believe that Zuko and everyone else might be in danger. Many of the Noble Houses are displeased with Zuko- "

"They are," she supplied, interrupting him.

"- but they don't dare go against him. They don't have the power, but if  _Dark_  promises them the same thing that he had promised Kuei, then Zuko is in trouble, especially since a lot of them would still be loyal to your father."

"So, who is this old friend of yours?" Azula questioned after digesting his words, not wanting to think of Ozai.

Aang turned to her and she could see the darkness lurking in his eyes, overshadowed only by the relief that Appa was okay. "A Guru that, if you'll believe it or not, is older than I am."

"So, is he an Airbender?" Azula questioned, "If this Guru lives at the Air Temple, wouldn't he be kin to the Air Nomads, Aang?"

"No, he isn't," the Avatar placed a hand on Appa, reassuring himself. "He has vast spiritual knowledge and power, though. He's the one who helped me control the Avatar State." She saw him close his eyes, guilty for all of the lives that he had stolen, all of the destruction that he had caused.

"Well, let's go, then, Twinkletoes. I've been wanting to meet this Guru Pathik dude for years now!" Toph's impatient voice was loud, cutting through the solemn air. "We need to go before reinforcements arrive. Although you could effortlessly take them, – and us, too! – they're not going to like what you've done to the place, you know?"

"She's right, Aang," she said softly, hoping that he would listen. "Who knows what their reaction will be, and they probably won't listen to reason, especially with me here. Think about Appa, okay? He won't get a chance to rest with a mob," their eyes connected, and she was struck by the glaze in his beautiful gray eyes; it concerned her.

Aang shook his head, eyes clearing of the murky fog. "Of course, of course. Are you ready, buddy?" Aang turned soft eyes to his friend.

Appa roared and she saw Aang nod, "Yes, I know, but it won't take long, I promise." A fierce shudder went through him, "You're okay, you're okay. Nothing will happen to you, I swear on Gyatso's spirit. You remember the Eastern Temple, right? It's where you and I were born."

Azula glanced at Aang when he disclosed that information; he had never mentioned that when they had been on Ember Island. But before she had the chance to ask him, Appa rumbled and rose to his feet, looking healthier and stronger. Instead, she climbed into the saddle, glimpsing the larger lump of blankets near Toph, wondering if she should give one of them to Aang, but decided to worry about it later.

"Yes," his voice echoed, "you'll be able to have onion and banana juice. Pathik would love to give you some." Aang then hopped onto Appa and placed his hands on his Sky Bison's head, muttering something, eyes beginning to glaze over once more.

He was reassuring himself that Appa was fine, Azula realized with a forlorn frown. His actions on this day were going to haunt him for a long time, if they hadn't already started to.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Bemusement had been a constant feeling ever since when he had stumbled upon his uncle and Katara in the Royal Gardens days ago. When she had noticed him, he had braced himself for an apology, for he had thought that she would try once again, but she hadn't, opting instead to swear to regain his trust.

She was giving him space and time until he was ready, and it was strange. Zuko, for the first time in a long time, was completely at a loss for what to do; a situation like this had never happened to him before. When he had Mai had briefly 'dated', if he could even call it that, neither's feelings had even been thought of. Instead, it had been a very selfish ordeal, particularly since Mai had used the sudden knowledge that Zuko had risen to Fire Lord to escape from prison, declaring that the Fire Lord would execute everyone at the Boiling Rock if they didn't release his 'girlfriend', a future Fire Lady.

Zuko closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead. Women were so strange, and even though he had some experience with women, especially with a woman's desires when he laid with the concubines, their emotions were a complete mystery to him.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Zuko glanced up at the door to his privy chamber, startled for he had specifically given orders to the Imperial Firebender to be left alone, unless if someone had died, his exact words.

After a moment, he clenched his jaw, straightening behind his desk. "Enter," he snapped as the door opened. "Someone better be dead- " he abruptly broke off when he noticed that nobody appeared in the doorway. Narrowing his good eye, he rose to his feet. "Show yourself! It is treason to go against the Fire Lord's express orders."

"Well, since we are already banished, I don't think that it would really matter." Two shadows appeared in the doorway and Zuko recognized them: Mai and Ty Lee.

"What are you doing here?" He growled out, "Don't you know what's happened? My father's escaped and Kuei yearns for blood, specifically for the conquerors of Ba Sing Se. You mustn't be seen! Why did you come here, you damned fools? What are you doing?"

"We're here to assassinate you," Mai replied dryly, twirling a knife in her hand. "You wanted someone to be dead, didn't you? Your wish will now be granted, Fire Lord, with your own death," she threw the knife at him with deadly accuracy and Zuko, who was too shocked to fully move, just narrowly avoided the blow to the heart. Pain erupted in his mind, alarm spreading as he looked down at the knife that was embedded in his chest.

Even though the blood was blocked from leaving his body, it was still very dangerous, so Zuko yanked the knife out with a hiss and placing a flaming hand to the wound, the smell of burning flesh filling his nose as nausea threatened to overwhelm him; his lips parted in a silent cry as his blood was literally being boiled for several brief moments.

Before he could readjust and figure out why they wanted to, apparently, kill him, Ty Lee jumped onto his desk, lashing out in an attempt to block his chi. It had been a long time since death had been such a close possibility, but the instincts were still there, in the depths of his mind, waiting to be unleashed.

In that shadowy realm in his mind, they flared and Zuko pivoted his stance, kicking the desk away, watching as Ty Lee jumped at him in a last-ditch effort. He heard the sound of Mai drawing another shuriken and he instinctively rolled beneath Ty Lee, lashing his foot upward, catching her own leg and the former acrobat fell to the floor harshly with a shriek of pain.

Mai quickly retaliated by throwing two more shuriken at him the moment when he jumped to his feet, and he barely responded in time with a wave of fire, melting the metal. He thrust his hand forward, sweeping his arms in a wide arc, and the wave exploded towards Mai, the fire threatening to raze everyone in its path.

His former girlfriend narrowly rolled out of the way, but she hadn't been quick enough to avoid full harm. Her clothes had become aflame and Zuko watched as she hissed and tried to snuff them out, and when she didn't immediately succeed, he smiled in victory.

A movement. His instincts hadn't left him and were still attuned to the environment, and he recognized the feeling bearing down on his mind.

An enemy was near; he had forgotten about Ty Lee.

Zuko whirled around, panic raging in him like fire itself, but he had been too late, too careless! A flash of skin, and he felt a nimble hand jab itself into his side and the unmistakable, searing feeling of his chi being blocked was felt. It had been so long since his chi was blocked that he fell to his knees, feeling so incredibly weak. Even if he had had his swords, he doubted that the weak feeling would vanish; his body had become so accustomed to his flowing chi, his very Inner Flame that it was shutting down, trying to conserve energy while it tried to 'undo' Ty Lee's subtle power.

Shadows entered his vision and he looked up, seeing the two women, his two former not-friends, but acquaintances, stand over him, ready to kill him.

"You know, your reign as Fire Lord was never supposed to happen anyway," Mai intoned. "You were just the son of the spare Prince, always intended to marry into one of the male-heirless Noble Houses and become their Head. We're fixing the wind of fates' mistake."

"And we'll be rewarded greatly for it," Ty Lee said, tilting her head up, eyes dark, almost purple-looking – and Mai's, too. Neither woman looked like the two whom he had known; strangers had stolen their faces and briefly, before his imminent death, Zuko wondered if Koh, the Face Stealer had been the one who freed Vaatu for who else could 'put' the faces of his former acquaintances on complete strangers, ones whom are willing to murder the Fire Lord at such a time when his father had escaped?

"Hey!" A wave of water suddenly smashed into his would-be-killers and Zuko had never been more relieved to see Katara in his life, watching as the Waterbender stormed into his privy chamber, blue eyes blazing.

He slowly craned his neck to the side and saw Mai and Ty Lee frozen solid to the wall, ice draped over their forms like an extra pair of clothes. Abruptly, Katara was kneeling next to him, hands pressed on his chest, causing him to gasp in pain. "You're bleeding!"

Zuko looked down to where her hands were sprawled on his chest and saw that blood was slowly seeping through her fingers; his wound must have reopened slightly during the fight and was now leaking blood. "I suppose so," he murmured.

"Your chi is blocked, too," she muttered, looking forlorn and then drew water from one of his unused chalices in the room, coating her hands in the liquid and then, his lips parted soundlessly as he felt his skin stitch itself back together, his cauterizing-mark fading.

"Thank you, Katara," he whispered, closing his eyes. "Thank you,"

She turned to stare at the frozen forms of Mai and Ty Lee, "Don't mention it, okay?"

Zuko grasped her arm with bruising force and she looked down at him, blue eyes wary and surprised, making him regret his actions ever since she had arrived at the Caldera. "Thank you," he said softly, staring into her beautiful blue eyes. "I would be dead if it wasn't for you. You saved my life; because of you, I'm still alive. And after the way that I've treated you, you chose to… save me anyway," his voice carried awe.

"First of all, I deserved all of your scorn, and secondly, you're welcome, Zuko." She smiled, and he was struck by her beauty, and then he felt disappointed when she looked away from him, towards the frozen Mai and Ty Lee, who were desperately trying to escape their prison. "Who are they?"

"Mai and Ty Lee," Zuko growled out as he slowly stood up, gently rubbing his now-healed chest, trying to find the wound that was no longer there, still waiting for the chi-block to fade.

"Zuko!" He whirled around, trying but failing to alight his hands with flames, ready to kill any other potential attackers who Mai and Ty Lee had brought with them, but he barely had enough time to register his uncle before he felt a huge body slam into his own, arms wrapped around his back tightly.

He gasped out, "Uncle," he patted the man on the shoulder, noticing that Katara was looking away from the scene.

His uncle squeezed him one last time and then let go, "When the guards never changed shifts, I knew that something was wrong, potentially perilously so." His uncle gestured back at the door and Zuko followed his uncle's hand, eyes taking in the sight of the slain Imperial Firebenders against the walls outside of the door, shuriken buried in their necks, blood no longer flowing down their armor like a river, but instead leaving the armor stained.

Gritting his teeth, anger renewed, he turned around and stalked over towards Mai and Ty Lee's thrashing forms. "Why? What could cause such disobedience in you? You seek to become the harbingers of woe, destruction, ruin, and decay over your kinsman? To murder the Fire Lord is a slight against Agni himself," he dimly wondered how his mother felt since she had actually successfully murdered a Fire Lord, Zuko's own grandfather. "Death, though, may yet be called forth. Although you murdered my loyal guards, death's sting has not yet been fully felt. So, answer me! Why?"

They laughed darkly at his words, "We hate you!" Ty Lee snarled, and gone was the former girl whom he had known; in her place was a stranger.

"We've waited a long time for this," Mai sneered. "And now, that the time has finally passed us by because of that water-tainted peasant, we are thankful! Now, we will have the opportunity to wound you again, and spill your life's blood with my shuriken! It's all that we've thought of since you exiled us."

He noticed Katara tense in indignation but all that he felt was confusion. It had been they who had volunteered to 'escape' from the transfer to protect Azula, thus forcing Kuei's ire at them instead of the 'mad' Princess; they had, even after all of Azula's actions, still cared for his sister and had been willing to do whatever they could to protect her. And these strangers were clearly not Mai and Ty Lee; Mai would never be so emotional, and Ty Lee would never be so cruel-sounding.

Decision made, he clasped his hands behind his back. "Uncle, if you would, make sure that these two who seek my death are escorted to the dungeons and are searched carefully – strip them of all of their clothes if you must to do a thorough job – for any weapons." Zuko rubbed his temples, feeling a terrible headache begin to gain strength, throbbing more so with each passing second.

"Of course, nephew, I'll make certain that no abuse befalls either party." His uncle stepped out and briefly waved his hand, gathering more guards. Then, they entered his privy chambers and hauled his would-be-assassins out to the dungeons.

After they left, silence reigned until it was pierced by Katara. "Are you alright, Zuko?" She had stepped next to him and began to guide him to the couch.

Zuko turned his head to look at her properly, focusing on her, not caring what his actions could potentially represent. "No, my head is pounding, and I was nearly killed by two people who I was once, maybe, close with."

Katara bit her lip as he wearily sat on the cushions, rubbing through his hair. Then, before he could react, she pulled him over, gently laying his head on her lap, and her soft fingers began to drift through the strands of his hair, stirring feelings of peace and something that he dared not acknowledge.

His eyes unconsciously fell shut and he sighed aloud, "That feels nice," he whispered.

"It's supposed to, Zuko,"

Zuko refused to ponder why it felt intimate as she continued to gently thread her fingers through his hair, but he was content to lay in Katara's lap, feeling a simple peace that had evaded him ever since when he had received the notice from his mother that his father had escaped from his prison.

"Zuko!" He heard his mother's voice shout and he blearily opened his eyes and saw the figure of his mother dart out of the secret passage. "I heard what happened. Are you alright?" Her voice was remarkably calm, but the worry and fear shining in her eyes were all too clear to see.

Apparently, Katara did as well because she answered before he could. "Zuko will be fine. His wound was quite bad, but I managed to heal it, and now, his chi is currently blocked, but it will wear off soon enough and he feels exhausted and has a throbbing headache. …It is a pleasure to finally meet you face-to-face, Dowager Fire Lady Ursa." Katara attempted to bow but his mother waved her off and Zuko shut his eyes, uncaring how weak he undoubtedly looked.

The fear slowly faded and was replaced by intrigue. "And who might you be? I know that you are one of my son's… friends from the Great War – I saw you at dinner the other night." Zuko almost chuckled as she left the part where Katara was furious unspoken.

"I am Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, Dowager Fire Lady Ursa. And please, I insist on the truth," Zuko's eyes opened to stare at her in bewilderment. "I was a horrible friend to your son – and we all were, as well. I'm trying my best to gain back his trust, even though I probably don't deserve it."

"An arduous endeavor," his mother hummed and Zuko felt some of his ire at Katara diminish, dimly wondering if she had said what she had to hopefully manipulate him into forgiving her.

"Yes, it is," she began to soften her touch even further and Zuko almost sighed aloud in pleasure as her fingers massaged his scalp, chasing away the headache. "I would like to apologize to you, Dowager Fire Lady Ursa,"

His mother raised a brow, finally sitting down in one of the chairs. "Whatever for?"

Katara wet her lips, continuing her ministrations. "My behavior towards… Princess Azula was shameful at best and egregious at worst. General Iroh helped me see the truth days ago, and I realize that I was acting childish, terribly so. So, I formally and informally apologize to the Fire Royal Family over my disgraceful treatment towards Princess Azula."

Zuko stared up at her in an almost awe, "Thank you, Katara,"

"Yes," his mother said, "I thank you, too. I can understand your feelings towards my daughter, more than you probably know." His mother stared at the hands that were massaging his scalp, threading through his hair. "Thank you for healing my son, Lady Katara," she beamed, looking happier than he had seen her in a long time.

Zuko almost groaned, knowing that his mother, the woman who had been pressuring him to marry for years or at least procure a girlfriend, probably now thought that there was something between he and Katara because of the position that she had stumbled upon. So, to distract her from that unpleasant and scary train of thought, Zuko innocently brought up his assassins.

"How could Mai and Ty Lee do something like that?" His mother's voice was disappointed after digesting the shock of the news, but she also, to his surprise, didn't seem too surprised.

"Why would they choose now of all moments?" Katara questioned abruptly, "They've had years to attempt something, but they chose to wait and attempt something when all of us are here with you."

"Yes… Why would they wait until now?" He hissed out, an idea floating in his mind, and he despised it with a passion. "They're working for  _Dark_. It's the only logical explanation. They would assassinate me and then Ozai," he spat the name as if it were a curse, "would ascend to the Dragon's Throne as I have no heir besides Azula, and nobody would accept her, not even the Noble Houses."

He gauged their reactions and wasn't disappointed when they seemed to actually consider what he had revealed.

"Your father cannot firebend, my son. A Firebender must sit on the Dragon's Throne for his or her legitimacy to be approved." His mother pointed out, "Plus, Azula is next in line, like you had said. Nobody would dare pass over her – it would be her birthright to sit on the Dragon's Throne, the first true Fire Lady since Akemi."

"You underestimate the loyalty that could be provoked by Ozai, mother," he huffed out. "All of the Noble Houses, specifically the ones that I've humiliated and demoted, just need a little push to join the treachery of father."

"Then they're idiots," Katara shook her head in disappointment. "Who would willingly follow such a vile creature as Ozai?"

His mother smiled sorrowfully, "Those who were raised that way, Lady Katara, sadly."

Zuko growled, not wishing to think about his dastardly sire any longer. "Well, at least we know that Mai and Ty Lee work for  _Dark_."

"We don't know that, though. They could have just lost all their marbles and truly wanted to kill you," the Waterbender pointed out. "Who knows what years of exile will do to someone?"

"I do," he grunted, sighing as he knew that she could be right. The only reason that he hadn't been worse off doing his banishment was that of his uncle. The only problem was that none of them could know definitively if Mai and Ty Lee were working for Vaatu or not. While Zuko could sign orders to torture both of them, he doubted that that would get them anywhere. "We will just have to wait until Aang returns from Ba Sing Se," he concluded, really hoping that his friend was doing better than he himself was right now.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Aang couldn't get the sight out of his head: dark red blood was everywhere, and his best friend murdered, lifeless eyes shut, a peaceful resting state for a violent death, and maybe worst of all, his own hands were the color of the ground that ran crimson.

Slowly, he felt his body began to shake in realization. He had killed all those people, slaughtered them like they were mere helpless children, but they had killed Appa! Then again, it didn't matter. He was the only one alive who could answer for the deaths because he had killed everyone else.

Blood was shed, just as he had seen in his vision, but he had never imagined that he would be the one who spilled it. Gray eyes shut tightly, inherently knowing that there was nothing that he could do to change what had happened, but he wished it wasn't so. He gripped Appa's fur tightly and didn't know if he could ever let go. He had lost so much, in his life, too much! He could not lose Appa, too. The echo of his best friend's roar of pain pounded in his mind, and the image of his slain body floated behind his shut eyelids.

"Hey, give me one, too, Lightning Psycho," the voice reached him, but it was far away.

He dimly recognized Azula's voice reply. "Sure, just let me first give this one to- " a stunned silence pierced through the shadows in his mind.

"Hey! Who the fuck are you? How did you get on Appa? Answer me! I may be blind right now, but I can feel your vibrations!" Toph's outraged voice echoed in his ears but it was quickly diminished in the rising darkness.

"Aang, we have a problem!"

He heard his name explode from Azula's lips and the haunting echoes erupted into cracks of deafening thunder. With each crack, pain jolted through him, bolts searing continuously into his head. His mind and body began to recoil under the onslaught of memories, spittle ripping past his mouth as his lips parted in a silent scream; and then he began to see, to watch: phantoms of his past stood in front of him, his very name passing their own ethereal lips, spoken by his slain, fellow Air Nomads, and beside them all were Gyatso, Kuzon, the Bumi whom he knew before the Great War, Pasang, Kuei, Dai Li, the Generals, and all of his past lives.

People who were all dead now because of him, and him alone.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Azula had plopped down next to him on Appa's head.

"Nothing," he said dazedly, having let go of Appa's fur and then he slipped his hands onto his thighs, gripping them, his fingers pressed into sturdy flesh with  _such_  force that he almost thought his skin would rupture. He had to do something! He needed to stop his trembling, lessen the noise, ward off the pain, ignore the phantoms, but he could do nothing. He was condemned to sightless eyes as they assaulted his vision and the truth was staring at him, and he couldn't look away.

" _You are a murderer,"_ Kuei's ghost snarled at him.  _"You are unworthy as the Avatar!"_

Gyatso suddenly tore through Kuei's ethereal body with animalistic ferocity.  _"Aang, why did you leave? Where were you when we, when I needed you?"_

His gray eyes filled with tears, "I'm sorry! I made a choice – I couldn't stay without you as my Master. They were going to take me away from you! I was only a boy."

" _You were a selfish little boy!"_  Gyatso's wizened face crackled with fury.  _"You abandoned me – the entire Air Nomads. You failed me! Don't you see what you've become because of your choice? You are a betrayer and kin-slayer, shameful to your people."_

Kuzon floated next to Gyatso, golden eyes burning with loathing.  _"You are guilty!"_

"No," he whispered, shaking his head frantically, feeling Azula's hand on his shoulder and saw her speaking, but could hear none of her words. "You're wrong!"

" _You left both Realms to be molested by death and horrible chaos,"_  Gyatso spat at him.  _"I regret ever teaching you, you cruel child. Blood forever stains your hands, not-Air Nomad. You aren't one of us, you never were. You're but a Mad Balance-Keeper!"_

The tears spilled down his cheeks, "No, that's not true! It never will be."

" _Mad Balance-Keeper! Mad Balance-Keeper!"_ All of the ghosts began to chant, the unifying boom of their words splitting his spirit to the bone.  _"Mad Balance-Keeper! Mad Balance-Keeper! Mad Balance-Keeper!"_

"No! NO!" He roared, chakras slamming shut and Aang collapsed onto Azula, no strength left in his body. His vision blurred as the mists clouded the depths of his eyes, and the darkness beckoned, and needing the relief, he welcomed it eagerly, letting it swallow through him, engulfing him like a ravenous Dragon.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Worry was raging through her, an emotion close to panic. At first, when she had tried to notify Aang of the situation that had happened after she had grabbed a blanket in hopes of helping him through whatever it was that he was dealing with, she had been concerned, especially when he hadn't answered. And after he had flinched, cringing when no blow had been struck, she had felt her anxiety increase.

When he had declared that nothing was wrong, she hadn't believed him for a moment, knowing that he was lying. And she was right, for only moments later, he began talking aloud, speaking to invisible specters that she couldn't see, voice pleading and broken, stirring emotions in Azula.

Blood had drained from his features, the appearance of death swiftly overtaking him, and he had shaken and recoiled, eventually collapsing on top of her, almost causing her to fall off of Appa, but thankfully, she had managed to keep her balance, how ever barely it was.

"What happened?" Toph's voice carried in the wind, Momo curiously looked over the saddle.

"He's unconscious," and even though she couldn't physically see Toph, she envisioned the blind Earthbender opening her mouth, so she quickly spoke. "I didn't do it!"

"That's not what I was going to say, Lightning Psycho." Toph's tone was serious, grave. "Get up here, already."

Azula closed her eyes and easily made a decision, scooping her hands underneath Aang's shoulders and lugged the surprisingly-heavy Avatar into the saddle.

"What I was going to ask was, was what are we going to do about our little hitchhiker?" The Earthbender pointed her thumb to the little girl who was sitting in the back of the saddle, who had been discovered after Azula had grabbed a blanket for Aang.

She sat across from Toph, cornering the girl, ignoring the reasoning behind why she had laid Aang's head in her lap, leaving him there.

Assessing the girl, Azula noticed that she looked no older than six years old at most, but there was a subtle maturity in the girl's eyes that impressed Azula, reminding her of herself. "And who are you? I'm in no mood for games, child." Her golden eyes flashed, worry for Aang engulfing her mind. "If I don't like what you have to say…" she trailed off, threat echoing in the air.

The girl clearly understood as she paled and swallowed audibly. "My name is… Samir," she eventually murmured, avoiding Azula's piercing gaze. That's when she realized that the girl – Samir – had avoided making eye contact with both she and Toph ever since her discovery. From what Azula could contemplate over, there could be no reasonable conclusion for why the girl wouldn't look at them. Samir couldn't be shy for she had had the guts to stow away on the Avatar's Sky Bison, managing to stay hidden for a shockingly long time considering who was on board.

Azula admired Samir quite a lot, actually.

"Why did you sneak aboard Appa? Are you a fuckin' spy? Were you sent by that bastard Kuei before his fortunate death – again, what a prick." Toph growled out and cracked her knuckles. "If you are a spy, believe me, I will then gladly chuck you off Appa and let you plummet to your death like a rabid cur."

Azula raised a brow, shamefully realizing that that would be something that her former self would do, the monster who Ozai had molded her into. Toph's fists were clenched and she recognized that Appa's death must have shaken her far more than she had originally thought. "While that is definitely something that I wouldn't mind witnessing Kuei himself experiencing," she motioned towards Samir. "Samir is only a child, Toph, not a spy, probably six years old at most," she looked at the girl pointedly.

Samir nodded down at her hands, spacing her words. "I am six years old," she conceded.

Triumph spread through Azula; her observation skills were still functioning at peak capacity. "Look at me. Not to the saddle, your hands, or my companions. Look at  _me_ _._ "

Samir swallowed audibly and slowly, achingly, raised her gaze to meet Azula's, gray eyes meeting shocked and wide golden ones. Azula looked down at Aang's unconscious face, one that was peaceful, much different from his last moments conscious. He was the only person alive who had eyes that color. Was Samir… his child?

As if Samir understood her train of thought, the girl looked down, too, at Aang's head that was gently sprawled across Azula's lap. "I snuck on, so that I could speak with him."

"So, why do you want to talk to Twinkletoes, kid?" Toph leaned forward.

Samir stayed quiet and looked at her twiddling hands.

"Are you an Airbender? And better yet, are you his daughter?" Azula asked bluntly, Momo chattering excitedly at the possibility.

"Daughter?" Toph's voice was incredulous, "Why would you ask that? Do they look alike?"

And Azula realized that Toph didn't know about the significance of eye color, that she couldn't even see, probably didn't even know all of their eye colors. "Samir has gray eyes, a color that nobody in the entire world has except Aang himself."

After a moment, the Earthbender's eyes widened and whipped her head towards Samir, "Spill, kid, are you his spawn or not? And matter of fact, does that make you an Airbender?"

"I don't know if… Avatar Aang is my father," she whispered, yearning spreading curiously across her features. "I'm a non-bender but… I have dreams," the girl's reluctance to share that information was apparent.

"Dreams?" Toph's voice permeated doubt and Azula was of the same mindset. How could a mere girl remember her dreams? Even as an adult, she herself had trouble remembering what terrors plagued her at night after a day's time.

Samir glared at Toph and Azula was unable to quell the laughter from erupting past her lips – that was the weakest glare that she had ever seen. The girl tried to glare at her, too, but Azula was nonplussed, able to keep her amusement from showing. "Nightmares," the girl swallowed. "Every night for the past months, the same dream every time – it's so much… darkness _."_  The child whispered, eyes glazing over, fear carved into her delicate, innocent-looking features.

"Do you buy this spiel?" Toph stared unseeingly at Samir's frozen form. "I don't,"

Azula frowned, wishing that Aang was awake and coherent because she would truly prefer that he deal with this situation, especially since Samir wanted to talk to him, but because he was unconscious, dead to the world, he couldn't. She contemplated for a moment waking him, rousing him from the hold of darkness, but based on the last minutes when he was awake, she doubted that he would be of any real help, and she doubted that she could even wake him because he seemed so out-of-it.

"Samir cannot harm any of us," she said at last. "And remember, she could have potentially done so when we weren't paying attention earlier." Saying the words aloud left a bitter taste in her mouth, but it was, unfortunately, the truth. "You and I, Toph, are two of the most powerful people in the world, and plus, the Avatar is onboard as well, no matter his unconsciousness. And I think that Samir is telling the truth." She might not have Toph's lie-detecting feet, but she had been reading body language ever since she could remember; the girl was telling the truth. "And this Guru Pathik might be of good assistance in helping Samir – and, of course, Aang, as well."

"Yeah, yeah, but how much longer?" Toph shouted the last part and Appa roared in indignation. "Hey, I can't help it that I hate flying, you snuggly Sky Bison! I'm completely blind up here!" Appa didn't seem to care as he still roared angrily.

Azula laughed, shaking her head, "I believe that it will only be another hour or so, Toph. And keep in mind that Appa was killed and revived by Aang within minutes of each other. So, I doubt that he can fly as fast he usually would be able to." Her words shut Toph's mouth, just as Azula knew they would, watching as the Earthbender swallowed, looking angry at herself.

"I want to talk to him!" Samir suddenly interrupted.

"You can't, kid, he's knocked out." Toph huffed out, blowing the bangs out of her unseeing eyes.

"Wake him up, then!"

"He's knocked out! He's had a rough day, so drop it."

"You mean when he killed all of the Dai Li and King Kuei, right?"

Azula raised both of her brows in astonishment, not knowing that Samir had observed the fight between the Avatar and King Kuei and company; she had thought that the child had snuck upon Appa when Aang was healing him, while she and Toph had been distracted. How did a child witness something so gory without anyone noticing? Surely, someone must have spotted her in the resulting battle. "Yes, that is what she means, Samir. Why were you anywhere near the palace at all? You could have easily been killed. You know that, don't you?" Azula stared at the child.

Samir looked to her hands again, "When I heard that the Avatar had come to Ba Sing Se, I wanted to speak with him."

"Why? We already heard you're spiel about dreams. What's the real reason, kid?" Toph interrogated her.

"The dreams!" The expression on Samir's face reminded Azula that the girl was just a child. "I already told you! I wanted to talk to him about it!"

"Where are your parents?" Azula asked curiously.

Samir looked out at the clouds rushing past them, "I don't have any,"

"Are they dead?" Toph questioned bluntly, "So, you're an orphan, then?"

The girl sniffed, tears welling in her gray eyes and Azula, to her shock, felt compassion for the girl. "I never had any parents. All I can remember is the orphanage."

Azula nodded her head, not wanting Samir to contemplate her parents any longer; it sort of reminded her about her own feelings towards Ozai – and her mother, somewhat. "Okay, but then why were you in the Upper Ring? Those are the Noble's grounds."

The girl sniffed some more, but no more tears fell, something that Azula respected. "I was born after the Great War, and all I know about my… parents are that my father was a Firebender and my mother was some whore in the Lower Ring – I'm an unwanted whore's daughter." Samir looked to her hands again, shame echoing her words, tears spilling onto her hands. And Azula finally suspected that she knew the origins of the girl's birth. When her brother had called back the Fire Nation from Ba Sing Se, from what her brother had raged about to her one time in her prison, most of the soldiers had visited the brothels in the Lower Ring as they were leaving the city, thus forcing them all to arrive to the Caldera later than what her brother had wanted. Now that she was looking for it, she could see several Fire Nation features in Samir, mainly the pitch-black hair, and the curve of her flushed cheekbones. Everything else must have been from the girl's mother, and the mother was undoubtedly beautiful for Samir was a lovely-looking girl.

"And your mother left you at the orphanage, didn't she?" Azula asked softly, almost gently.

Samir nodded, "Yes, that is what the Sister Tausru told me. Though, nobody knew how my mother, the whore, managed to sneak into the Middle Ring to deliver me to the orphanage."

"Okay, but how did you get in the Upper Ring? It's impossible for a child to ever cross the districts without help." Toph questioned, leaning forward, looking curious about the answer.

"Eventually," the girl began, "after several years, I caught the eye of one of a Noble when she was, for why I don't know, in the Middle Ring, and she purchased me from the orphanage, hiring me as a servant for her children." Azula nodded in understanding, knowing now why Samir was so well-spoken for her age; she had practically had the early education of a Noble's child. "I worked for them ever since and I hated it. I was a slave: not a person, but property. The Noble made me do things…" the girl's hands clenched.

Azula's eyes ignited with a fierce glow, recognizing the line of thought. "What things? What were you forced to do?"

Samir swallowed, anger carved into her delicate features. "I was forced to pick up their pet Cat Owl's poop!"

Sighing in relief, Azula laughed slightly. She had thought that the girl had been forced to sexually please the Noble Head, and if that had been true, she wondered if she would have forced Appa to return to Ba Sing Se so that she could kill the man, but thankfully, for the man, that wasn't true. "There are a lot of worse things one could be forced to do in this world than picking up an animal's poop, Samir. Anyway, how did you manage to travel all the way to where the Avatar was at?"

"When my masters began talking about it, spreading the news on accident to me, I ran away when I was supposed to be using the bathroom; and I was never caught on my way to the palace."

That caught Azula's attention. Noble's did  _not_  let servants escape, for even to a neighbor's home, without harsh retribution. The girl continued to earn Azula's admiration. For someone so young to be able to sneak away from a Noble's thumb was unheard of. "I'm impressed, Samir," she said at last.

Samir looked at her in awe, "Really?"

Azula, all of a sudden, felt uncomfortable because people, especially little girls, weren't supposed to look at her with that expression. It had never happened in her experience because everyone who she had ever met, save for Aang and Zuzu and uncle and mother and father, were always marred by fear.

Feeling awkward, just as she had on Ember Island with Zuzu and Mai and Ty Lee at that damned party all of those years ago, she gazed down at Samir blankly. "Yes, now continue your story, child," she ordered, hoping that Samir would become distracted.

"I don't want these dreams and I figured that if anyone can help me, it's him," her finger pointed at Aang's still unconscious body. "When your animal fell out of the sky, I knew that my chance wasn't going to happen again." Samir folded her arms around herself like a blanket. "I didn't know what would happen, though, after your animal fell. When the Avatar began to kill everyone, I snuck onto your animal's back, figuring that since he liked the animal, he would keep it safe. I didn't want to see what happened, so I hid underneath the blanket," she patted the blanket that was wrapped around her stomach.

Silence reigned over them for several moments until it was pierced by Toph.

"You're quite resourceful and clever, kid," the Earthbender seemed impressed in spite of herself.

"Thank you," Samir said quietly.

Azula felt the need to defend Aang, "You must understand, Samir, that Appa, the animal that we are all sitting on top of, is Aang, the Avatar's best friend. King Kuei was wicked and tried to hurt Appa, and when he did, Aang didn't like it."

Before Samir could reply, though, Appa roared, the echo of exploding air felt by everyone.

"What is it?" Toph snapped, were wrapped around the grips tightly, fingers completely white from the pressure.

Since Aang's head was still laying in her lap, Azula adjusted herself further to the side, looking over the saddle, craning her neck to look past Appa's head, and what she saw was a sight so beautiful that her breath caught in her lungs.

The Eastern Air Temple.

Three huge towers with trees seemingly growing  _out_  of the stone sat on a mountain, the towers separated only by an enormous valley below. Multiple bridges connected the towers to each other and Azula noticed the energy that seemed to surround the place in a blanket. And after a moment, she realized that it was spiritual energy.

"We're here, everyone. Appa was telling us that we had arrived," she translated for her companions.

"Finally!" Toph's enthusiasm was tangible and Appa took offense, roaring angrily. The Sky Bison then, before any could realize what he was doing, did a full flip in the air and everyone, including Azula, who would never admit it, shrieked and held on for dear life. "APPA!" Toph then barked, her face was looking as green as her clothes.

Appa righted himself and shook for several moments, and Azula realized that he was laughing. "Appa," she called out. "Aang's hurt, remember?"

At the mention of Aang, Appa immediately stopped and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Azula looked down at Aang, unsurprised to see that he was still completely dead to this world. She was really hoping that this Guru Pathik whom he and Toph had both spoken of would be of help and not a waste of time. If she was being honest, Aang's faith and the need for Appa to rest were the only reasons keeping her from choosing a different location.

Appa released a mighty roar that made the very air quiver, rupturing as she assumed that he was letting the Guru know that they had arrived. The Sky Bison then gently landed on a platform, and without a moment's hesitation, Toph hopped off gratefully, immediately rolling around in the dirt and dust, a dopey expression on her face.

Samir watched the Earthbender in disgusted fascination, coming closer to Azula. "What is she doing?"

But before she had a chance to answer, another voice spoke. "It is good to see you again, Appa," a man then appeared from the shadows behind a pillar in front of Appa and Azula's lips parted in shock as she raised a brow at the man's appearance; he was shirtless, wore only a loincloth, and bushy white beard fell off his face, and to her uneasiness, his eyes were ancient, filled with knowledge. Just looking at him, Azula knew that Aang had been speaking the truth: the Guru Pathik was older than the current incarnation of the Avatar.

Azula lugged Aang out of the saddle and eased her way off of Appa, struggling because Aang was a lot heavier than he looked. Once she finally stood to her feet, heaving the unconscious Avatar against her. "Can you help us?" She asked bluntly, "If not, we'll leave and go someplace else."

The Guru stared at her curiously and then he looked to Aang, frowning as he walked forward, ancient eyes full of worry. A wrinkled hand was placed on Aang's head, directly over his forehead. "Oh, dear, it seems that Aang has blocked several of his chakras. I had feared that this might happen, but it is no matter. I will help him unlock them and finish his training. If you want, I can help all of you do the same, as well."

Toph was done rolling in the dirt and stepped next to Azula, a coat of dirt covering her entire body. "What do you mean by finishing his training, Guru Pathik? Aang's a fully-realized Avatar, the most powerful being in the world."

"No Avatar has been fully-realized since Avatar Kirku," Azula tensed at the name and the Guru noticed her reaction, fully turning her attention on her, ancient eyes breaking through all of her erected defenses, glimpsing her soul. "And you know of whom I speak, do you not?"

"I've spoken with Avatar Kirku," she admitted slowly, wary of what the Guru could do with that information; the man truly filled her with trepidation – the wisdom in those eyes was too much. "Aang had summoned him forward and we both questioned him about things."

The Guru hummed thoughtfully, tilting his head to the side in curiosity, eyes engulfing her. "And who might you be, then, for the Avatar himself to show such an unheard-of trust, to let you, a regular mortal, communicate with one of his past lives, a tradition shrouded in sacred secrecy?"

Azula looked into the man's eyes and, to her shame, was intimidated. While the Guru wasn't a physical threat, the eyes held so much, able to wound her in ways that a physical blow never could – the only time when she had been unnerved by one's eyes was Aang when he was angry, or even worse, in the Avatar State. "I am Princess Azula of the Fire Nation," she murmured out, wondering if the Guru would attempt to kill her because she was heir to Sozin, the man whom had slaughtered the Guru's friends, the Air Nomads.

The Guru did none of what she had thought, instead choosing to beam at her. "Well, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, I am Guru Pathik, friend to the Air Nomads and those whom the Avatar trusts. It is a pleasure to meet you," and then before she could even react, the feeble-looking Guru took Aang out of her grasp and heaved him into his arms, carrying him with ease.

Azula's eyes widened at the sight, realizing that the Guru could be a threat if he wanted to and that, maybe, he was far more physically adept than she had thought.

"I'm Samir," the girl piped in, probably feeling left out and ignored. "I have gray eyes like the Avatar!"

Pathik smiled down at the girl, eyes glimmering. "Well, I see that you speak the truth! Your eyes are gray, just as Aang's are – although yours are much less… divine. Anyway, Samir, it is a pleasure to meet someone so young. Believe it or not, it has been many decades, almost a century, since I have conversed with someone your age."

Azula slowly closed her eyes, inhaling slowly. Aang was unconscious and based on the last minutes when he had been awake, had been seeing phantoms that weren't been his past lives, Appa was injured, and they were now all stuck with an isolated Guru who may or may not be insane. She trusted Aang's judgment, though. He had been adamant about Pathik, so Azula would be willing to give the old man a chance. After all, she was curious about what  _training_  a fully-realized Aang needed to complete, in spite of him being a fully-realized Avatar, Master of all of the Elements.

XxXxXxXxXxX

**Well, that's all for this one, folks, and it was a long one! Tell me what you think and leave a comment; I'd really appreciate it.**

****Okay, it had always really pissed me off when, in** _**The Southern Raiders** _**episode, a fan favorite and one of my favorites, too, Katara was acting like a bitch, a child who was throwing a tantrum. I understood why she did it and applauded her when she decided to find her mother's murderer, but when she said that Aang didn't understand what she was feeling – and when she said something about Sokka not loving their mother like she herself did – I completely despised the writing of it, especially since nobody called her out on it.** _**"I knew you wouldn't understand."** _ _**"Then you didn't love her the way I did."** _ **That scene, especially since there is no fallout like Aang losing his 'feelings' for her or he and Sokka losing their trust for her, is one of the most poorly-written scenes in Avatar, in my opinion.**

 **So, I had Aang never forget that moment and unleash it back towards Katara in the Avatar State – poetic justice because, to be blunt, Katara deserved it. So, now to**   **anyone who thought Katara was out of character throughout the chapter, and even before this chapter, there have been many occasions in Canon when she has blamed different people for her mother's death. She had even blamed Zuko. Katara is human and she has mostly been isolated at the South Pole for almost her entire life, save for journeying across the world during the Great War. Because of this, she hasn't matured. Sure, she matured during the Great War physically and mentally, but emotionally she is very, very lacking, most of the Gaang is. They were all mere children, even Zuko and Sokka, fighting in the Great War, death and trauma becoming a part of them, something that they should have** **never** **been exposed to.**

 **Katara's mother's death reshaped her** **entire** **life. She had never been able to properly grieve (Yon Rha in** _**The Southern Raiders**_ **doesn't really count. She was consumed with vengeance. She did receive closure from the encounter, but healing from grief is**   **far** **different than closure.) because Hakoda and all the had men left to join the Great War. She was then the eldest of all children in the Southern Water Tribe and she was forced to basically play 'mom' for years. She had always wished for her mother to be alive, what child wouldn't? Her reaction was understandable, especially when she learned that Zuko had found his mother, whom she hadn't even know was alive. Remember, she was completely envious of Aang when she had taught him waterbending from the stolen pirate scroll. Because of this, Aang never really put forth the effort to actually master waterbending in the series as seen in the North Pole. Now, if Aang had** **actually** **trained and didn't daydream, he would have easily surpassed Katara in skill and power. Her actions have consequences, accidental consequences, but consequences nonetheless.**

**And since she went back to the Southern Water Tribe after the Great War ended, she didn't mature past the person who she once was. Instead, she kind of reverted back to whom she had been; no growth as a person, or character, had occurred, but now it finally will. So, when she said those things to her brother, about him not loving their mom like she did, she never meant it. (I'm not convinced that she didn't mean what she said to Aang.) Her emotions had clouded her judgment just as they did, when in this chapter, she discovered that Zuko had found Ursa, his own mother. Katara, as a character and person, tends to think with her heart instead of her head. And while there is nothing wrong with that, wars are only ever won when the heart is tempered by the mind. I'm sorry if it seems that I have been, that I am bashing Katara, but that wasn't my intention. She is one of my favorite characters in Avatar, but she has flaws just like every character in Avatar, and everyone in life itself.**

****We get Iroh's point of view about his life and the death of Lu Ten. It makes sense that he would be a different character, just as was shown in the last chapter. His wife was never mentioned so I decided that she would 'pull an Ilah' and die in childbirth, traumatizing Iroh even more – the two women whom he had loved most in the world had died the exact same way. And his treatment of Ozai was shown hidden in Canon, but if you truly look at it and make a few assumptions, it's there. Ozai wasn't just born a monster, so I showed more of Iroh's actions, such as burning his younger brother, that cemented Ozai's path to become a cruel tyrant.**

**How Iroh went into the Spirit World is revealed and I hope that it made sense. I always thought that he would have seen Lu Ten and it was his son's spirit who had helped him see that his time wasn't over, and that Zuko needed him. And I think that only an Avatar could pull Iroh into the Spirit World, so I chose Roku because Roku has a vested interest in the Fire Royal Family, since it contains his bloodline. So, he helps set Iroh back on his feet and Sozin does, too! I truly think that Sozin regretted what he did at his death. The quote shows as much:** _**"As I feel my own life dimming, I can't help but remember a time when everything seemed so much brighter."** _

****Kuei is no longer the guy who he had once been, transforming into an unbendable, cruel person. If you look at real-world history, especially for Kings, it is filled with Kings who, when they had first come to the throne, had left the true work to advisors just as Kuei. And then, they later take over and become drunk on the power. A great example of this is King Henry VIII of England, one of, if not the most notorious King in history. When he took the English Throne after his father's death, he was only an older teenager, and spent most of his time jousting, trying to conquer France, and having a 'good time'. The man who did most of the other type of work for the King was Thomas Wolsey, who was even called the 'Second King' as a result. Eventually, though, Wolsey messed up and Henry VIII became suspicious. When Wolsey died, Henry VIII took more of an interest in his abilities as a King and that was when he became the nearly-omnipotent King whom the entire world knows as the wife-killer. (Although, personally, I think his wife-killing status only happened because of a severe head injury that he suffered in a joust, which was half a year or so before he killed Anne Boleyn, his first executed wife. His personality changed and warped, becoming the monster that was, perhaps, always inside him.) So, when a monarch, as shown in history, begins to know the true capabilities of their station, they become someone else just as Kuei does in this story.**

**Also, the quote that I used is actually something along the lines of:** _**"…only ever tell the King what he should do, not what he could do; for if the lion knew its own strength, no man would ever be able to control him."** _ **So, as you see, I simply replaced 'lion' with 'Dragon'. I don't remember where exactly I heard that from, but I think that it was** _**The Tudors**_ **tv show, but I'm not sure.**

 **Aang then goes berserk when Appa is killed and slaughters everyone that he can and then heals Appa, bringing him back from death! If he seemed overpowered, he was. The Avatar State has been proven, until** _ **The Legend of Korra**_ **ruined it, to be the failsafe for an Avatar, a trump card that no one could ever hope to match. So, the Dai Li and Kuei and the Council of Five couldn't even hope to even scratch Aang when he was in the Avatar State, and it showed as he killed all of them. I think that the reaction was more than realistic, especially considering what had almost happened to the Sandbenders in** _**The Desert**_ **episode. The only reason that Aang had calmed down from the Avatar State, not killing everyone, was that Katara somehow managed to calm him down. But this time, it's worse in every way. Appa was only muzzled and stolen then, but now, he was killed and Aang stared at his best friend's slain body. Also, with everything and all of the emotional trauma that he had endured in the past eight-plus years in this story, his emotions are frayed, shown when he unleashed the Avatar State three separate times in this chapter. His spirit and mind and heart are very withered so far, and when the last living thing that he has of his people, the only being who had been with him through everything – growing up before the Great War, learning of his identity as the Avatar, the Iceberg, awakening from a century's sleep, learning of the Air Nomads' genocide, mastering the elements, the conclusion of the Great War, and burying the skeletons of countless murdered Air Nomads, and much more – something breaks inside him, rupturing as he unleashes everything on Kuei and the Dai Li and the Council of Five. This will act as a catalyst to help him reach his full potential, and ultimately, truly begin to move on from his grief.**

****Zuko is nearly murdered by Mai and Ty Lee and is barely rescued by Katara in time. Realizing how she has been acting, the Waterbender apologizes to both Zuko and Ursa, beginning her long road to forgiveness and becoming better than she had been.**

****A child named Samir, which means wind, sneaks on Appa while Aang goes on a rampage against Kuei and company. She has a purpose in this story, and it will be apparent, don't worry. She's not some character to add 'fluff' to the story.**

**I hope you all enjoyed it. Please, leave a review and tell me what you think. I'd appreciate it. Until next time, everyone.**

**_Stay Safe_ **  
**ButtonPusher**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender**

XxXxXxXxXxX

Sunlight pierced through the eternal darkness of his mind, gently wakening Aang from his… slumber. It had impaled through his defenses suddenly, but the sharp, wounded cry was familiar as awareness swept through him. He blearily opened his eyes and unseeingly stared at the intricate air symbols carved into the stone for several moments as he tried to orient himself. Where was he? What had happened?

He felt a terrible exhaustion that wasn't at all physical and a terrible headache pounded between his ears. He tried to think of the reason for his physical state but no matter how desperately he sought the answers, he couldn't think straight. Trying to keep himself from panicking, he inhaled slowly and tried to latch onto his last memory. What was the last thing that he remembered?

Azula had been sitting next to him, but his attention hadn't been on her, had it? No. No, it was something else. What was it?  _'Mad Balance-Keeper!_ ' The screeching words suddenly and painfully erupted into his ears with the force of Combustion Man's explosions and Aang flinched as he was catapulted back to what had happened as he had sat on Appa's head-

Appa!

The events in Ba Sing Se – everything that had happened – assaulted his mind and Aang physically recoiled from the images, springing back at the memories. Appa's blood was sticky and fresh as it stained his hands, marring his Air Nomad arrows with the blood of his best friend. Kuei's face – and all of the Dai Li and Council of Five – were all marred with terror beyond understanding, their necks all arched in a painful angle and their vein-exploded, blood-filled eyes were filled with death-causing pain.

Aang lurched out of the bed, falling on his face as his legs collapsed, but he ignored it, pitifully crawling to the window. He had to leave! He was suffocating, throat closing just as he had suffocated Kuei and the Dai Li and Council of Five, and he felt the walls closing in on him, attempting to crush him.

"Good Morning, Aang,"

The images vanished before his eyes and he groaned aloud in relief, turning around. His eyes wearily connected with Guru Pathik's, feeling the stark contrast between them as his spiritual mentor's eyes were brimming with mischief and life.

He licked his lips, "Hello, Pathik," he grunted out, the words barely understandable since his mouth was so parched.

Pathik stepped closer and sat down next to his sprawled form. "It is good to see you again, old friend," the Guru smiled, eyes crinkling with warmth. "Your friends were quite worried about you – and Appa and Momo were, too." Aang's eyes shut as Pathik lifted his head, a bowl pressed to his lips. Reflexively, he opened his mouth and the familiar taste of onion and banana juice spilled down his throat, and he greedily slurped all of the juice, trying to quench his seemingly unquenchable thirst. "Is that better, my friend?" Pathik asked as he placed the now-empty bowl to his side.

Aang nodded, "Yeah, thank you, I needed it," he coughed, scratching his neck anxiously. "How's Appa doing? He was shot down and- "

"Your friends explained everything that happened so there is no need for you to delve into painful memories, for now, Aang. Anyway, Appa is completely healthy, more so than I've ever seen for a Sky Bison, and has been seeking his best friend for a long time."

Tears welled in his eyes and Aang felt such relief, knowing that his best friend, the only being that remembered the Air Nomads as he did save for Pathik, was going to be okay. He closed his eyes and nodded his head gratefully, thanking no one in particular. "That's good news, Pathik, such wonderful intelligence. So, how long was I out?"

"Over two weeks," his spiritual mentor's words were serious but kind. "We have a lot of work to do, Aang. Whatever you experienced on the ride to the Eastern Air Temple," Aang had a flash of all of the ghosts, particularly Gyatso's, condemning him, "have blocked many of your chakras. And since your arrival, the rest became blocked as well. We must begin the process all over again, but this is a blessing in disguise, though, my friend."

"Why?"

"You never completed your training."

Aang tiredly snapped his head to meet Pathik's gaze, narrowing his eyes. "What? Yes, I did, Pathik. I'm a fully-realized Avatar."

"You may be a Master in all of the bending arts – and Energy, too, if your friend's words are true – and have control over the Avatar State, but there is a lot more that you can achieve. Did you know?"

"Are you talking about chakras, Pathik?" Aang asked, shaking his head. "I already did that, remember? I can control the Avatar State – mostly." His eyes shut as his deeds at Ba Sing Se floated in front of him.

"I am, indeed, talking about chakras, Aang, but you had only merely unlocked them, which helped you gain control over the Avatar State, yes. But you need to master your chakras – there's a difference, Aang. By doing this, you will be able to access your full power and potential and Raava's vast spiritual energy, too."

"Are you being serious, Pathik? This isn't a joke to welcome me back to the land of the living, is it?" Aang asked incredulously, "I mean, mastering chakras? How do you even do that?"

"Practice, my friend, and practice makes perfect." Pathik grinned, eyes crinkling.

"No, perfect practice makes perfect, old friend," he corrected, sighing as he realized how much tediousness and emotional agony that he would experience by mastering his chakras.

"Truer words haven't been spoken, Aang, and that reminds me: one of your friends said those exact same words to me about practice when I mentioned it. Who is Azula, my friend?" Pathik's voice carried a curiosity and something that Aang didn't want to think about.

"A Firebender who taught me that phrase," he said dryly.

Pathik's laughter was pleasant and Aang soon joined him, chuckling quietly as the guru wiped a tear from his eye. "That was quite clever, Aang, but that's not what I had meant. What I had meant was, who is she to  _you_?"

"Azula is my friend," he replied calmly, fearful of where Pathik was hoping to take the conversation.

Pathik raised a bushy eyebrow, "Really? Azula is nothing more to you than a friend? I mean, would a friend sit by your side each day for over two weeks as you recovered, simply waiting patiently for you to wake, staring at you and Agni's light? Would a friend take such a fascination in the Air Nomads, spending as much time beside your side as she did in the library in the Air Temple?"

He swallowed, "Yes, a friend would do both of those things," he said more than a little unconvincingly, unable to help the flush of affection that had rushed through him at Pathik's words.

"I don't think so, Aang, and I don't think that you think that. Perhaps you have finally found someone who would be willing to support you as the Avatar by being your wife and help you restore the Air Nomads to their rightful place in this world, prepared to bear an entire nation through her body alone."

Aang blinked and then his lips parted as he registered Pathik's outrageous assumption. "What? No, that's crazy, Pathik," he rushed out, not feeling tired anymore. "I'm not attracted to Azula and she's not attracted to me. That's it, the end of the story."

Pathik shook his head, looking incredibly disappointed, causing Aang to feel chastised. "You are blocking your chakras even more, my friend, but for now, I will let you hold onto your misconceptions."

His head perked up, "What did you just say?"

"You're blocking your chakras even further because of your denial of your feelings towards Azula, my friend."

Aang tried to sit up, but he was still too weak. "No, no," he ignored Pathik's words about his feelings and focused on something else. "After that!"

"For now, I am letting you believe your misconceptions. Was that it?"

"Yes, that's it!" Aang glanced around the room, looking for his sack that contained the ancient airbending scroll –  _'Let go of the misconceptions that plague you. Enter the void and become the wind.'_ – but it wasn't there.

Aang looked wildly at Pathik, "Where's my sack? I need it now – it's important."

"Azula has it," Pathik tilted his head to the side, considering him. "She is something special, you know?" He shook his head in amusement. "If you wish to have your sack, you must speak to Azula, my friend."

All of Aang's exuberance faded like Agni's light when the darkness of night appeared. He couldn't talk to Azula, not yet! It wasn't because he didn't want to, but rather because Pathik's words would be echoing in his ears if they talked, thus forcing him to wonder and imagine. They, the Avatar and the Princess of the Fire Nation borne of Sozin's line, would never work, not even a little. They were totally different in character and beliefs and personality. He was an Airbender, evading every obstacle in his path and achieving freedom, whereas Azula was a Firebender, aggressively attacking every obstacle in her path and seeking power. Plus, she had tried to kill him dozens of times and almost had when she shot him full of lightning in Ba Sing Se all of those years ago.

It didn't matter that he felt such a simple and soul-soothing peace whenever he was merely in her presence, or that she was willing to challenge him, the Avatar, unafraid to speak what was on her mind, a first that he had experienced. It also didn't matter that she seemed to accept every part of him, including the unholy darkness and evil that he could unleash so effortlessly that he himself was terrified of. It didn't even matter that they understood each other and had a bond and that she was the most strikingly attractive woman whom he had ever encountered.

None of it mattered.

"I take it that you would like to see Appa, yes?" Pathik's suggestion gave Aang the relief that he hadn't known he was seeking.

"That would be great, Pathik, thank you."

"Come, take my arm and I'll bring you to him, my friend." Pathik gripped Aang's arm and pulled him along slowly to Appa's location, passing Air Nomad art and statues, bringing a subtle peace to Aang's soul.

Then, after several more moments, he heard his friend before he saw him. Appa's roar of joy could be heard in the Fire Nation. In a huge blur of motion, an enormous tongue suddenly smeared against his face and Aang welcomed it. "You're okay," he breathed out and closed his eyes, feeling Pathik step aside as Aang reverently hugged his best friend.

"Yes, he has made quite a splendid recovery, methinks – he's stronger than ever." Azula's voice drifted into his ears.

His gray eyes snapped open in alarm, an emotion close to panic. He didn't know how to talk to her since Pathik's words, unable to help but wonder about a potential… future of possibilities. Slowly, he warily turned around, Appa's slobber drizzling down his face and body, gray eyes connecting with beautiful golden ones, and somehow, he knew what to say. "I'm glad that he did. I don't know what I would do if something had… gone wrong while I was cataleptic. So, thank you for taking care of him for me whilst I've been… lifeless, Azula." He felt a small smile grace his features when Momo darted off his perch from Azula's shoulder and blurred towards him, nestling into Aang's chest, and he hugged his Lemur back.

Even though he didn't look at her, he could envision Azula's smirk, "Well, who else was going to? Plus, I think that Appa trusts me now; he even likes me." She stepped closer and rubbed Appa's arrow and his best friend grumbled in agreement, soothing vibrations bringing peace to Aang's soul as he laughed freely. Now, none of Pathik's words tormented him, mocking him as they echoed in his ears, and he found it effortless to converse with her; he remembered the steps to their dance.

"Twinkletoes, you're finally up! You gave us all quite a scare, you know?" Toph appeared out of the shadows near one of the pillars and dashed forward, slugging his arm brutally.

Aang winced, still feeling weak, but he managed to grin at her, ignoring Momo's angry chattering. "It's good to see you, too, Toph." He rubbed his arm, glancing back towards Azula and that was when he noticed the small girl, who was now standing behind Azula's leg, shyly staring up at him. He tilted his head to the side, wondering if Pathik had found a new apprentice, perhaps, or a potential successor as a Guru. He smiled kindly, trying to put the girl at ease. "Hello, my name is Aang. What's your name, young one?"

The girl's eyes finally connected with his own and he was astounded by their gray color. "My name is Samir, Avatar Aang," she said, her words spaced considerably, and he dimly recognized that she was trying to be as perfect in her pronunciation as possible.

Instead, his lips had parted at the familiar name, the Air Nomad name. Feeling a burst of excitement, he closed his eyes and focused on the energy of Samir, anxiously feeling, deciphering. Almost immediately, though, disappointment swept through him; she wasn't an Airbender as he had foolishly hoped, not even a bender at all.

He didn't let the distress show on his face, though. "It is an honor to meet you, Samir," he said genuinely. Even though the girl wasn't an Airbender, he wasn't going to be rude; and he should have known better than to believe that any Airbenders still existed – Sozin and his blood-soaked armies were ruthlessly persistent, enduring on as they left no stones unturned in their quest to rid the world of the Children of Air. Plus, she was really cute, looking to be around five years old, if he had to venture a guess.

"So, Twinkletoes, answer the question that's on all of our minds: is she your spawn?" Toph huffed out, looking eager while Aang blinked at the question, bafflement sweeping through him.

"What?" He demanded, wondering how much he had actually missed. "No, I think that I would know if she was of my blood, Toph, and she's not! I've never even laid with- " he cut himself off, feeling embarrassed, refusing to look at Azula.

Samir suddenly smiled brightly, all shyness vanishing as she suddenly looking like the young child that she was. "It's okay that you're not my daddy, I was sure that you weren't. But I do have dreams, though!" She shouted, rushing forward at him, beaming up at him innocently. "That's why I snuck on Appa. I wanted to talk to you."

Aang blinked, "What? You… snuck on Appa?" He looked at Azula incredulously, noting that she looked incredibly amused.

Azula thankfully took pity on him, soon enough, explaining. "Remember, I was trying to get your attention when you were on Appa's head, but you quickly passed out, collapsing on me - for reasons that none of us yet know." She raised a brow at him and Aang knew that he would have to explain what had happened, the appearances of the ghosts, to her eventually, "I had wanted to give you a blanket," she paused for a moment, "because you had seemed cold," her words were blank and Aang knew that there was far more to it than that, especially since she knew that he didn't feel the cold. "Anyway, when I had grabbed the blanket, I had discovered Samir hiding under it, amongst the other blankets. She did, indeed, sneak on to Appa when you were… dealing with Kuei and company, realizing that it was her only chance for safety. When we discovered her, Samir has adamantly stated that every night, she is tormented by nightmares of darkness _._ " Aang understood the layers beneath the words; Samir was having dreams of Vaatu and Ozai.

"Samir, why did you want to speak to me about them? It isn't a regular bad dream, is it?" Aang slowly, weakly kneeled in front of her and he dimly noticed Momo leave his shoulder to fly back on to Azula's own shoulder.

"Because I want them to go away!" Tears welled in the girl's eyes, and her cheeks became flushed, looking distraught. "I'm afraid to go to sleep! All I see is… the darkness and this voice."

He noticed that everyone else, even Azula, looked taken aback at Samir's words and he realized that the girl hadn't revealed that there was a voice. He deciphered that information calmly, "And what does this voice say, Samir? Do you remember?"

The girl nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks and Aang felt the need to comfort her as she swallowed. "Yes, it rhymes, I've heard it enough to remember. Every time, when all I see is the darkness, raging fires, and mountains crumbling, the voice keeps saying:  _'Lies seem true, but they cannot be. Know the truth, I must disclose to he. If the Avatar knows not these discontents, it will be cause for another war and dreadful events. Expose the truth and they will never again from memories fade, but if they are not known, the Realms will instead be wandered in eternal shade. So long as breath is drawn and eyes do see, the Avatar must converse with me. The fate of both Realms is at hand, so you must find the Avatar, child, I do demand. If he doesn't speak with me, hearing of all of the potential woes, he will find that I am the most awful of foes.'_  That's what the voice says, Avatar Aang, every time." Samir sniffed and her cheeks were pale, along with Toph's – and even Azula's.

Aang was impressed that Samir had been able to remember those words, but he was incredibly worried about what truth he needed to know. And even stranger, he instinctively knew that the voice didn't sound like Vaatu. But who else could it be, though?

"That is quite ominous-sounding," Azula said, golden eyes considering.

Toph shivered, "It's fuckin' creepy, is what it is."

Pathik glanced at Toph, "There is a child present, Toph, so I insist that you mind your tongue with offensive barbs. Aang, this a spirit's work, a powerful one."

"Yes, it is," he agreed, frowning when he saw that Samir was shaking badly, terror etched into the girl's features. Aang smiled softly, sadly and pulled her into his chest. She stilled briefly and then snuggled into his chest and finally, she sobbed, the wails of a poor and petrified child echoing in the air terribly. Aang soothingly rubbed her back, brushing his fingers against her sob-wracked form. "It's okay, Samir. I will help you no longer have these dreams, okay? I used to have dreams, too," he whispered into her hair.

Samir was nestled into his chest, her sobs still audibly, but he heard her question clearly. "Really?" Her voice was hopeful as her sobs quieted.

"Yes," he whispered back, remembering his prophetic dreams of Sozin's Comet that he had mistakenly and stupidly ignored.

"What were they about?" She had finally begun to calm down and her breathing wasn't as erratic, the sobs ceasing.

Aang sighed and looked up at Azula; her eyes were soft, and she was looking at him with an emotion that he didn't want to name, so he looked away, mistakenly towards Pathik, who smiled at him smugly. He shook his head and pulled Samir back, staring at her intently. "Have you ever heard of something called Sozin's Comet, Samir?"

The girl nodded her head, "Yes, it's what ended the Great War. That's what my masters said." Aang's eyebrows furrowed at the girl's words. What did she mean by masters? After a moment, he ignored it and focused back on her. "They said that Avatar Aang won on that day. Did you see Sozin's Comet, then? Was it pretty?"

Aang closed his eyes and he heard Toph snicker slightly, "Yes, I did see it, and it was very beautiful, Samir. Have you ever heard of the Air Nomads?"

Samir smiled, "Yes, you're an Airbender!" She pointed at his arrows.

He smiled sadly, "Yes, I am, but did you know that I'm the Last Airbender, Samir?"

The girl scrunched her eyebrows, eyes still red-rimmed. "What do you mean?"

"I'm the only Airbender left in the entire world – there are no more. Sozin's Comet was used by the Fire Nation to start the Great War over a century ago and all of the Airbenders except for me died."

"So, there are... no more? You're the last one?" She breathed in shock.

Aang nodded solemnly, eyes gazing into the past, ignoring the screeching voice in his ears –  _'Mad Balance-Keeper!'_  He placed a hand on Samir's shoulder, "Yes, before the Great War began, I had dreams about the comet and the death of my people. I didn't tell anyone and maybe I could have prevented it if I did. I failed, but you, Samir, are stronger than me. I didn't have any of the strength of courage to do what you have done; instead, I let my people perish because of my negligence." He was unable to keep the shame, regret, and sorrow from infecting his voice, clouding the air itself.

He looked up with dry eyes and saw that tears were streaming out of both Pathik and Samir's eyes. He saw Toph swallow, fists clenching, and Azula was looking down to the ground and he suspected that it was in shame over what her great-grandfather had caused.

Samir then burst forward and wrapped her little arms around Aang's back as tight as she could, "I'm so sorry," more tears began to soak through his shirt.

"It's not your fault, Samir. You have nothing to apologize for," he said gently. "I will help you with your dreams and I promise you that you will be able to sleep without fear of what will come."

Samir sniffed, "Thank you," her relief was tangible and Aang closed his eyes.

"You're welcome." He had a lot of work to do; opening chakras, dealing with certain… feelings for Azula, the scroll, Vaatu, and now Samir, but Aang had a feeling that once everything was dealt with, it would all be worth it.

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Anything?" Zuko asked sharply. Weeks had passed and there had been nothing from Aang – and from Azula or Toph, as well. On top of that disturbing information, the death of several of the Fire Sages had been discovered a few days ago, and the rest of the many Fire Sages had disappeared.

"Yes," his uncle said solemnly. "It is not good, though, nephew."

"What happened?" Katara asked, Sokka nodding next to her, eyebrows pinched.

His uncle sighed and his voice was quiet, "Over two weeks ago, when the Avatar arrived in Ba Sing Se, and after meeting with King Kuei, the Avatar was sighted, along with Princess Azula and Lady Toph, bursting out of the rubble of the palace."

"Rubble?" Suki asked incredulously, leaning forward. "What happened?"

"From what I can decipher, even though I might be wrong, it seems that Avatar Aang entered the Avatar State for a brief moment, and in his anger, destroyed the palace, just as Avatar Roku did to the Caldera's palace when he became enraged at my grandfather, Fire Lord Sozin." Zuko watched as his uncle's eyes shut, pain creasing his features. "A struggle ensued as the Avatar left on his Sky Bison, and from what I've pieced together, Appa was shot down, and by all accounts, seemed dead. The Avatar State was triggered but this time, Avatar Aang didn't regain control over his enraged fury. Ba Sing Se shook under his power, thousands dying from the resulting earthquakes and crumbling buildings across the entire city, and at the center of the chaotic storm, the Avatar murdered the King of Ba Sing Se, many of the Dai Li agents, and all of the Council of Five." Zuko leaned back in shock as his uncle finished, looking weary.

Katara gasped, looking incredibly pale, even distraught. "No, that can't be right, it can't be – Aang would never do that!"

"Appa's gone?" Sokka asked in disbelief and horror. "How could this all happen? Why would Aang…" he seemed at a loss for words and Zuko's uncle filled the silence.

"Avatar Aang did do exactly what I said, Lady Katara. From my sources, King Kuei demanded that Princess Azula be handed over and the Avatar refused, and that, along with King Kuei's obstinate arrogance, led to the slaughter. Reports disclose that the Avatar was seen leaving Ba Sing Se on his Sky Bison afterward, so he had somehow been able to heal Appa from death's embrace. No one has heard anything from the Avatar since he took Princess Azula and Lady Toph with him when he fled from Ba Sing Se."

Zuko unleashed an abrupt laugh, unable to help himself. "Well, at least that bastard is too dead to annoy me any longer."

"Zuko!" His uncle looked displeased by his words. "That is no way to speak of the fallen!"

Katara looked at him with shock, "Why would you say that?"

He shrugged, not feeling at all apologetic, "Because it's the truth. Kuei may have once been a good person, but his time as King revealed the hidden bastard who he always was. I don't feel sorry for him and I know that the Children of Earth would only mourn the loss of a King, not of an actual person."

"Kuei wasn't liked?" Sokka asked, eyes narrowed in consideration. "But he's the King of Ba Sing Se!"

"He was the King of Ba Sing Se, Sokka," he corrected immediately. "And no, he wasn't liked. He became a real prick and I know that I wasn't the only ruler to contemplate assassinating him." Gasps echoed and he refrained from rolling his eyes, "I would have never done it!"

"Oh, dear, but at least we know that they are all okay." His mother interrupted a potential outbreak of accusations, eyes clear of any fear for Azula. "Any idea as to where Avatar Aang, Lady Toph, and my daughter are currently?"

Zuko thought of Aang's words before he had left the Caldera. "He went to the Eastern Air Temple."

"What? Why would he go there? He could have come here." Katara said in disbelief, finally seeming to let the subject of Kuei go for now.

"The Avatar killed the King of Ba Sing Se," his uncle said bluntly. "Right now, the Earth Kingdom is fighting over control for who will become the new ruler of Ba Sing Se as Kuei had left no children or heir – he was the last of his line, no other blood relatives living."

"Good," he cut in. "Now there could hopefully be a King of Ba Sing Se who might bestow grace on the Children of Fire, something that Kuei refused to do."

"Well said, nephew, and I think that your wish will be granted. King Bumi is at the forefront above the other Major Cities' Kings and, in my opinion, will become the new King of Ba Sing Se or one of his grandchildren will."

"I still don't understand why Aang couldn't come back to the Fire Nation," Katara spoke, eyes bemused. "We wouldn't attack him, so what's stopping him?"

"If Aang came here, Lady Katara, war would be declared by Earth against Fire." Zuko's mother kindly answered. "The best place for Avatar Aang is to be away from the Fire Nation – and my daughter, too, in all honesty. We must wait for King Bumi or one of his grandchildren to fix the mess that Kuei started."

"Bumi had kids?" Sokka exclaimed, shuddering in disgust. "That's gross!"

Suki rolled her eyes, raising an eyebrow towards her husband. "So, what we did last night was gross, Sokka?"

Sokka's eyes widened and his jaw dropped, panic visible on his face. "No, no, no!" He looked at Zuko's amused face, and Katara's disgusted one, and wildly waved his arms. "I enjoy making love to my wife. It isn't gross!" He turned towards his wife and suddenly wrapped his arms around her. "I love you! Having sex is amazing!"

Zuko cut in before any more pointless chatter could flood the room, "Aang told me that he would go to the Eastern Temple if something went wrong in Ba Sing Se. And since something did go wrong- "

"Since something terrible did go wrong," Sokka corrected.

"- Then it's logical that Aang would follow his own declaration." Zuko finished.

"Then, I believe that it would be of our best interest to send a letter to the Eastern Air Temple in spite of the long trip that takes weeks for the War Hawks." His uncle advised, golden eyes serious, "The Ladies Mai and Ty Lee attempted to assassinate their former friend, their Fire Lord nonetheless, and I believe that we all want to know why they would attempt such a thing."

Zuko looked at Katara gratefully, "And thank you again for saving my life."

She flushed, looking pleased. "You needn't continue to thank me, Zuko,"

"It doesn't mean that I don't want to, though," he said.

His mother interrupted, nodded adamantly. "Your uncle is right, Zuko," she looked at him expectantly.

He sighed, "Very well, I'll send a letter to the Eastern Air Temple." He strode over to his desk and sat down in his chair. He then pulled out parchment and a quill and explained the situation as best as he could to his friend. "Guards!" He called out.

"Yes, my liege," the Imperial Firebenders opened the door and kneeled before him.

"Send this letter to the Eastern Air Temple immediately _._ "

"It will be done, my liege, we will make sure of it." They took the letter and scurried out of the room, their heads still bowed the entire time.

"How did you do that?" Sokka was looking at him in awe.

"Do what?" Zuko questioned with a frown.

Sokka waved his arm to the door, "You scared the firebending out of them! How did you do that?"

"All of the Children of Fire, benders and non-benders, including all of the Noble Houses, even their Heads, and every guard in the palaces, need to show the proper respect to their Fire Lord, Agni's anointed ruler over his children. Anything less than the utmost reverence and they could easily be executed." Zuko recited the traditions that he had been forced to learn as a child, and they effortlessly slid off his tongue.

Katara frowned, "That isn't right, though."

Zuko shrugged, not really caring. "It's tradition, Katara, it's how the Fire Nation has been for over a thousand years and more."

"Never mind that, but thanks for explaining." Sokka nodded his head, "But do you think that Aang is all right? He intentionally killed Kuei and the Dai Li and the Council of Five – and thousands of citizens in Ba Sing Se were caught by death because of his rage. I wonder what effect that will have on his mental state."

"Aang did not do that on purpose, Sokka!" Katara glared at Sokka, "He was in the Avatar State."

His mother raised a brow, "That is quite a naive way of thinking, Lady Katara."

"Excuse me?" The Waterbender hissed, blue eyes flashing.

Zuko's eyes widened in anger and he was about to come to his mother's defense, harshly chastising Katara, and just when he had thought that she had changed, but his mother held up a hand, stopping him. "Aang is a grown man, Lady Katara – and the Avatar, at that. The Aang whom you had known during the Great War might have never taken a life, but life changes people, physically and mentally, and spiritually and emotionally. It's one of the many irrefutable truths of life. And whilst Aang hadn't traveled to Ba Sing Se with the intention of killing anyone, events can happen that change any predicted or intended outcome. Once Appa, whom I have gathered is his best friend, was murdered by King Kuei and his men, Aang had thought that he lost the last remnant of his people, the fallen Air Nomads – may their rest be tranquil in the Gardens of the Dead." His mother's eyes briefly shut, and she was undoubtedly sending a silent prayer, as well. Then, her eyes opened again. "What would you do, Lady Katara, if your brother was killed right in front of you?" Ursa stared at the Waterbender not unkindly, "We both know the answer to that question, my dear. When it comes to the people whom we love, there is nothing that we wouldn't do to protect them." Katara's eyes widened and her face turned pale, a memory clouded in her blue eyes.

Zuko knew that his mother was thinking of his grandfather and he interrupted before anyone else could. "My mother's right, Katara. I'll be blunt: I've killed people, my uncle has, Azula has, Toph has, Aang has before Kuei and the Dai Li and the Council of Five, and your father has killed people."

"Woah! Hang on, time-out." Sokka held up his hands, a look of incredulous bewilderment across his features. "When did Aang kill anyone before over two weeks ago?"

Zuko raised his one eyebrow in disbelief – they couldn't truly be that dense, could they? "The North Pole, remember? Aang decimated the Fire Navy like a child would their toys! Do you know how many Children of Fire never returned home because of that? I'm not defending my father's choice to allow that fucker, Zhao to invade the North, and I do agree that Aang did the right thing, otherwise the Northern Water Tribe would be extinct, but that was the first time when I realized how powerful the Avatar truly was – able to kill tens of thousands with a mere wave of his glowing hand."

Katara's eyes widened, "But that was the Avatar State, so his past lives were in control – and maybe even the Ocean Spirit, too!"

"You are forgetting something crucial, Lady Katara," his uncle's patient voice cut through the tense air. "Aang is the Avatar – in spirit, but not body, he is Roku and Kyoshi and Kuruk and every other Avatar to ever exist. He has killed before in all his lifetimes. To be blunt like my nephew, Lady Katara: you haven't seen him in years. Aang is different from the boy whom you used to know. Like Dowager Fire Lady Ursa had said, life does change people. Do you remember our conversation in the Royal Gardens?" His uncle narrowed his eyes, on the verge of an eruption. "Do you think that Ozai was a monster from the second when he was born, in spite of whatever I and my father declared him as?"

Katara looked down in defeat, swallowing thickly, "No, he was innocent."

"Yes, Lady Katara," he took a sip from his tea. "Life changed him into a monster just as life has changed Aang into a mature man who knows what needs to be done."

Zuko couldn't have said it better himself, "We all need to grow up, no more ignorance. I am in charge of an entire nation, the second most powerful man in the world." He stared at Sokka, and the man suddenly straightened. "Sokka, you will be in charge of an entire nation once Arnook and your father step down – or die, whichever comes first. Life is often crueler than it is fair – that is another irrefutable truth about life." He was consumed with thoughts of the Agni Kai with his father, thoughts of Azula, his little sister, having to live with that monster for years by herself, and he thought of Aang being the last of his race. All of those instances were cruel, and the winds of fate let them all happen. He looked at Katara steadily, "Your mother was taken from you at a very young age." He saw her eyes light up with fire just as he had known that they would. "And you changed after that, didn't you?" Sokka turned to look at his sister knowingly, just as everyone did.

Katara swallowed, "Yes, I did. All right, maybe Aang did kill Kuei and company on purpose, but what are we going to do about Mai and Ty Lee?" She tried to smoothly change the subject, but she wasn't successful.

He was relieved to see that she finally understood, so he gracefully took the offered subject. "We wait because none of us can do anything, and nobody has any knowledge about  _Dark_." He shrugged, leaning back in his chair.

"My nephew is right," his uncle declared, looking like the General of the Fire Nation. "Aang is the only person who can help us, but we must wait for him."

Sokka grinned, "Well, at least he's good at making people wait, get it?" He studied everyone's unamused faces, "Oh, come on! Because he was gone for a century whilst the Great War raged on. Nothing? I thought that it was a good joke."

His mother shook her head, "It was a poor joke, Master Sokka, but it would be a good one in many decades, maybe, if you're lucky."

"So, what you're saying is, is that I'm ahead of my time?"

"Something like that, Sokka," Suki patted her husband's hand, and he looked pleased.

One of the Imperial Firebenders then knocked on the door, voice drifting through. "My liege, a letter has just arrived from King Bumi of Omashu for Prince Iroh."

Zuko looked at his uncle in bemusement, and when his uncle returned the same look, he had a bad feeling about the message. "Enter, but bring it to me," he called out and saw his uncle nod approvingly at his choice.

The guard swiftly entered, head bowed to the floor, and held out the message, "My liege,"

He stood to his feet and grabbed the scroll from the guard, "Dismissed." He dimly noticed that the guard then exited just as quickly as he had entered.

"What does the message say, Zuko?" Katara sensed the tension that had borne down on him.

"Yes, what does my old friend have to report to me, nephew?" His uncle had put down his cup of tea, patiently studying him.

Zuko unfurled the scroll and read what it detailed, lips parting in horror the more he read. How could this have happened? He looked towards his unaware uncle and his eyes widened in dismay, knowing that it would be he, and not King Bumi, whom would be the messenger of bad news. Slowly, like a beaten child, he held the scroll out to his uncle, almost wishing that his uncle would refuse to look at it.

But, instead, just as he had known that he would, his uncle took the offering without hesitation and scrutinized the writing. Zuko watched as his uncle didn't seem to react physically, eyes unblinking and no breaths puffed from his lips; he was frozen in his seat.

"Uncle?" Zuko asked cautiously.

His uncle suddenly collapsed on the couch, falling to his side, eyes glazed, looking much older than he actually was. "How could this have happened, Zuko? What will we do?" He murmured and Zuko quickly sat next to him, trying to console him.

"What does this fucking scroll say?" Sokka screeched, looking anxious and worried.

His uncle swallowed, "I can't say it, I can't. Zuko, you must read it aloud for me."

"Very well," he plucked the parchment from his uncle's limp hand and cleared his throat. "This isn't good news, okay? Be prepared, and don't interrupt me. This is… what it says:

 _My friend, the Grandmaster of Fire, Prince Iroh,_  
I bring the most dreadful intelligence, and in spite of rewriting this letter countless times, it is still agonizing to detail the information. This is one of the only times in my known memory when I have wished not to be an Earthbender in my approach, but I am unable to not be blunt. Iroh, the Order of the White Lotus is being slaughtered off, old friend. I've received many reports about the attacks, and when I write back, demanding answers, I never receive a response. Bodies of our members are piling, and I fear that out of our original two hundred and more members, only the Grandmasters and a few of the Masters remain – from what I've gathered, all of the Sages have been murdered, just as all the others. Never before had I imagined a force powerful and sneaky enough to massacre the Order of the White Lotus, but I needn't imagine any longer. I don't know the how, who, when, why, and where, but I do know that whatever is causing the massacre is a powerful spirit. We need Aang, we need the Avatar, and we need new recruits. Please reply, old friend. I've lost too many friends to death. I don't know what I would do if I received the notification of your own death. Please, respond to me, Iroh. I'm not sure how much more that I can handle this crisis without your help.  
King Bumi of Omashu, soon-to-be of Ba Sing Se, and the Grandmaster of Earth."

Everyone stared at him in shock and Zuko looked worriedly at his uncle, not knowing how this… news would affect him.

"The who was  _Dark,_  of course. I don't know the how, where, and when, but the why would be because the Order is a very powerful organization; many of the world's most powerful individuals claim allegiance to it." Suki concluded.

His uncle nodded tiredly, tears welled in his golden eyes. "Yes, I believe that you are correct, Lady Suki.  _Dark_  must be seeking to weaken the Avatar's power, and it makes perfect sense because the Order is Aang's organization; how could we be slaughtered off so easily?" He wearily turned to look at Zuko, "We also have to think about the Fire Sages' disappearance, nephew. I can't help but wonder if these two disturbing events are related."

"Wait, the Fire Sages are gone?" Sokka asked in shock.

Zuko nodded slowly, "Several days ago, the Fire Sages who reside in the Caldera did not report to me in the Throne Room for the daily blessing to Agni. I quickly sent guards to decipher their tardiness, and they returned with nothing except to report the death of one of the Sages. His body had been found desecrated. Then, the horror mounted as messages soon came that detailed the disappearance of the Fire Sages at all of the Fire Nation Avatar Temples, with several bodies found just as desecrated, as well."

"Hold on, there are multiple Avatar Temples?" Katara asked incredulously, gripping her forearms tightly. "I thought that Roku's was the only one, and it was destroyed by Roku himself!"

Zuko cut in before his uncle could answer, "Actually, that's not true anymore. I commissioned the construction of a new Avatar Temple for Avatar Roku on the volcanic island where his home had once existed and where he had died after my ascension to the Dragon's Throne. Even though mistakes were made in his life that led directly to the Great War, he still deserves the honor because he did achieve much good during his reign. The Temple was finished years ago, and it looks divine – as it should."

Katara looked shocked, "Well, that was honorable of you, Zuko," she said after a moment, and Sokka and Suki nodded in agreement.

"Yes, it was honorable of my nephew, and to answer your question, Lady Katara," his uncle smiled a grief-filled smile, but Zuko was relieved to see that his uncle could force a smile. "Yes, there are multiple Avatar Temples in each nation," his uncle blinked heavily, and Zuko was concerned that his uncle might collapse into unconsciousness. "There is more than one Temple dedicated to the Avatar; there is a Temple for each Avatar who has been recorded in history. Sadly, and unfortunately, there are some whom have and never will have such an honor – their names have been lost to the sands of time."

"Where are these Avatar Temples, then?" Sokka asked, leaning forward, looking incredibly interested. "Surely, we would have seen them, right? We've been everywhere!"

"The Temples for the Avatar are all separated from the main cities, towns, kingdoms, and Tribes in each nation; simply, the Temples are completely isolated. For example, The Water Tribe Avatar Temples, in both the North and South, are located in unknown places. And whilst Grandmaster Pakku and the Water Sages all know of their locations, the Chiefs of the Tribe do not."

"What?" Sokka looked baffled, "A Chief must know what is in his borders. When I become Chief, I'll correct that oversight."

"You must speak with the Avatar Aang because it was Avatar Kuruk himself who ordered the secrecy for the Water Tribes, forbidding that the Chiefs and their families have such sacred knowledge; only another Avatar can disregard a command of a previous Avatar. Anyway, the Earth Kingdom Avatar Temples are built into mountains and extremely difficult to find, even for a Master Earthbender; Grandmaster King Bumi and the Earth Sages know of their locations, but none of the other rulers do. The Fire Nation Avatar Temples are always erected on volcanos, accessible to a very limited few, and their locations are only known by the Fire Royal Family and the Fire Sages. The Air Nomads, may they rest in peace, were the only ones who had chosen not to assemble a Temple dedicated to all the Air Nomad-borne Avatars. Instead, incredibly beautiful statues were built in their honor and placed in a public place where all Airbenders could view as they pleased. The statues were placed in the Air Temple where the Avatar had been born. Only the Avatar knows where every single Avatar Temple is located, no matter the nation."

"So, they're all like Roku's temple, then?" Sokka concluded.

"Yes, but we need to get back to the Sages' disappearance," his mother reminded the room.

"Thank you, mother," Zuko stood up and crossed to the high arc of the window. Sunlight streamed through, bathing his body in warmth, and his thoughts turned inward. Why would the Sages disappear? Was it a coincidence that they had disappeared at the same time when the Order had been slaughtered? His eyes shut slowly, and he groaned aloud as he deduced the nightmarish plan that Vaatu had brilliantly commenced, "The Fire Sages, and maybe the Sages of the other nations, have betrayed the Avatar. They have aligned themselves with  _Dark_. Those who had remained loyal to Aang – and the Fire Sages who had refused to betray the Fire Lord, who is a close friend of the Avatar – were killed, thus the desecrated and gruesome corpses left for people to find."

Sokka leaned against the wall in disbelief, "Woah! I hate to say it, but that is genius! Vaat- oops, sorry!  _Dark_  has thought this through. It's perfect," he whispered. "He's loosening Aang's allies and political power structure."

"It is, Sokka," his uncle muttered, defeat shockingly wafting off of his form. "I have no idea what to do about this until Aang returns."

"So, we just wait?" Katara asked incredulously. " _Dark_  is gathering power by the moment, literally, and we're just going to wait for Aang to contact us?"

"I don't know, Lady Katara," his uncle slumped against the couch, looking much older than his sixty years of age, looking eerily similar to how Zuko had always imagined his great-grandfather near his death.

Sokka took Suki's hand, "Well, to distract from this, frankly, horrifying news, Suki and I are both going to go eat. I haven't eaten anything today and anyone is welcome to join us. What says you?" He was clearly trying to disperse the sorrowful atmosphere.

"That sounds excellent, Master Sokka," his uncle tried to stand up, and Zuko helped him to his feet. "Hopefully, as you have intended, it will reprieve my mind off this tragedy."

His mother then stood up as well and grabbed his uncle's arm, hooking her own through his. "I will join, as well, I haven't eaten anything today."

Zuko watched as they left his study, leaving him alone with Katara.

"You must think that I'm naive," she eventually said after several moments, looking quite vulnerable, arms wrapped around her stomach.

He turned towards her and shook his head. "No, Katara, I just think that you tend to think with your heart instead of your head." He slowly took out his crown and placed it on his desk, tiredly running a hand through his hair, "I'm envious of you in some ways, actually, believe it or not. I simply cannot think with my heart – I don't know how. I don't trust anyone except my uncle and mother and Aang. And whilst I do trust my sister somewhat, I am still waiting for a knife in the back. I can't seem to let go of the past, of her actions towards people who I care for and towards me."

Katara stepped closer, aligning her body next to his own. "I guess that we balance each other out, in some ways," she said softly. "Since my mother died, I've been using my heart, thinking with it, opening it, hoping that someone would fill the great void that had been left by her."

He looked down at her, trying to be subtle, but he wasn't sure that he succeeded. "And have you succeeded in filling the void?"

"Maybe, but I'm not sure yet," she admitted, staring up into his golden eyes.

His heart began to beat faster, and he was unable to keep from swallowing, "Well, I'm sure that whoever you have your eyes on would be happy to fill the void left by your mother."

"Do you think so?" Katara inched closer until no space was left between their bodies, "This stranger has been wronged greatly by my actions."

He stared into her hypnotic ocean-like eyes and felt some of his composure slip. "I'm certain that this stranger will forgive you,"

"I hope that he does, Zuko, because I miss him a lot. I regret my actions terribly, you know? I was such an idiot; I've always felt such a fierce connection, a bond with this stranger. I want him to know that I'm willing to wait until… until he's ready." Her blue eyes were kind and soft and understanding, "Do you think that this stranger will understand that, Zuko?"

"Yes," he breathed out in a rush. "This stranger will surely understand and eventually forgive you."

Katara smiled brilliantly, blue eyes alight with a beautiful hue. "Good, I'm glad, I truly am. I'm going to join everyone for lunch now. I hope that you join us," she then leaned up and kissed his cheek, her soft lips pressing gently to his warm skin. "See you there, Zuko," she then walked out of his privy chambers calmly.

When the door fully shut, he groaned and fell onto the couch, refusing to acknowledge his racing heart, the blush that adorned his face, and the smile that graced his usually stoic features. He had told her the truth in spite of his attraction and yearning that, if he was honest with himself, he felt. He would eventually forgive her, but not yet. He still held a bitter grudge, but his feelings of rage and betrayal had slowly lost some of their potency, with her actions the previous minutes diminishing them quite a bit.

And maybe it was a good thing, though. He couldn't afford to feel hatred and rage because those emotions, as Aang had disclosed, could potentially fuel Vaatu's power and whatever the malevolent spirit is planning. Zuko just hoped that his friend was trying to solve this crisis about Vaatu whilst he remained at the Eastern Air Temple.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Aang stared at Pathik incredulously, "What do you mean a Dark Avatar?"

"Vaatu is Raava's opposite," his old friend said calmly, a generous smile on his face. "One is Light and the other Darkness. Vaatu knows that he cannot defeat you because, simply, you are too powerful. If I had to guess, I suspect that he broke Ozai out of his prison in hopes of creating his own Avatar, the Dark Avatar."

"So, Vaatu is seeking to gain all of the elements and to create his own Avatar cycle." Aang tiredly concluded, running his hand through his long hair, the complicated puzzle growing with each passing day.

"Yes, and it would make sense that, since his release, Ozai has regained his firebending, a terrifying thought. Vaatu will now try to somehow acquire the rest of the elements, similar to how Raava did eons ago. And if he succeeds, Aang, they will be able to fight you on even ground."

"But what about the Harmonic Convergence's energy? That's how the Avatar Spirit was born: Wan absorbed the pure cosmic energy and it bonded he and Raava together forever."

"Yes, I know, and Vaatu would do the same as Wan did, securing an eternal bond between him and Ozai; I don't know how he would accomplish this, but I imagine that is Vaatu's true intent. He will try to kill Raava and destroy the Avatar." Pathik explained.

"Then how can I beat him?" Aang asked desperately, "Vaatu is in the Spirit World; I can't even bend there! He's Darkness itself."

"You can bend in the Spirit World, my friend," a smile graced Pathik's features. "It's been done before, only through the Portals, but I can teach you another way."

Aang's eyebrows pulled together in shock, "What are you talking about, Pathik? No, I can't, I've tried bending in the Spirit World before and knew that the Elders had been correct; they had always said that the Spirit World was a Realm where no bending existed."

Pathik shook his head, "The Elders were right, but you are the Avatar, my friend. Rules that apply to everyone else don't apply to you. It is now time to finish your training."

"To master my chakras?" Aang slumped forward in disappointment, not wanting to delve into his mindset and blocked chakras. He could still hear the screeching voices –  _'Mad Balance-Keeper!'_  – but he didn't want to face them again; he would rather just hear the echoes of their unifying screams.

Pathik laughed, "Yes, Aang, and by fully mastering your chakras, you will be able to, in layman's terms, teleport to the Spirit World. And you will be able to bend because your actual body will be there instead of just your spirit. Also, with your mastered chakras, you will also be able to access your full power. What you have achieved thus far, my friend, is only a mere drop in the ocean compared to what you are truly capable of."

Aang's jaw dropped, "Are you serious?"

"Is it possible for me to do that, as well?" Azula stepped into the room, and he had been wondering when she would finally reveal herself.

Pathik smiled at her, "It is good to see you, Azula, and to answer your question: yes, you can do this. Anyone ideally could with the right guidance and discipline."

"How much of a difference would there be? What could I do? Go to the Spirit World like Aang?" Azula asked as she sat down next to Aang, and he smiled kindly at her.

Pathik stroked his beard, "Oh, a difference would be apparent, Azula. If I had to venture a guess, I would say that, with your mastered chakras, your firebending would be comparable to the boost that you had received from Sozin's Comet when it had appeared at the end of the Great War."

"Really?" She leaned forward, looking almost excited and Aang chuckled quietly. "Is there anything else?"

"You are a cold-blooded fire-wielder, yes?" Azula nodded and Pathik continued, "Then you would also be able to shoot lightning immediately, no longer needing to complete the bending form before you unleash it. And lastly, you would be able to travel alongside Aang when he ventures into the Spirit World, but you would be a spirit. Your body would remain in the Mortal Realm, and you wouldn't be able to bend there, in the Spirit World."

Azula's lips parted in wonder and Aang's eyes widened slightly, possibilities filling his mind. She quickly turned to him, smiling genuinely, "When do we start?" He could feel his heart begin to beat faster, and he wouldn't be surprised if Toph could feel it from where she was watching – playing with – Samir. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Pathik wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

He ignored his old friend, staring at Azula seriously "Are you certain, Azula? It is incredibly difficult. To succeed, you must deal with your past and triumph over it."

She looked at him for a moment and then she smirked. "I'll be fine, Aang, I can do it," she turned back to Pathik. "I am ready, Guru Pathik, and am waiting to begin."

Pathik smiled, "Very well,"

Aang really hoped that Azula could handle mastering her chakras, but he honestly didn't know, and he was too afraid to glimpse the future. He already knew the details of her past, but he also knew that she had never fully accepted it, never coming to terms with her life and all of the pain that she had suffered under Ozai.

He took a hold of her hand and squeezed it gently, relieved when she smiled at him, and the emotions swelled inside him, appearing in spite of his best efforts to keep them at bay. Pathik had been right: Aang was fiercely attracted to her, a deep fondness and affection that he had never truly felt for someone else, but he already knew that nothing could ever come of it, though, and the thought created a painful ache in his heart.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Azula smiled as Aang sighed aloud and turned back to Pathik, gray eyes dark and serious. "Whenever you're ready, Pathik."

The Guru assessed her specifically for several moments and then the man suddenly closed his eyes, head bowed slightly. "Chakras are the nexuses of chi within one's body. Everyone, no matter if they are a bender or non-bender, has chakras, but the crucial difference is that a bender can become so much more if they master their chakras. Now, there are seven chakras, each situated at a different location in the body, albeit, they are all located on a central vertical axis, and each chakra has a specific purpose and each one deals with a different emotion, which can then be blocked by another emotion. As such, the chakras can be opened and closed depending on the state of one's mind. So, when a chakra is opened, the energy of the chi is free to flow through the body, achieving someone's full bending potential. But when the flow of the chi energy is restricted, the chakras are sealed and lead to one's bending potential never being attained." Pathik's voice had become raspy, almost ancient, and Azula hung on to every word.

"Close your eyes, Azula," Aang spoke softly and she briefly looked at him, but when she noticed that his eyes were shut, she followed his command and instruction, closing her eyes.

"The Earth Chakra," the Guru's voice echoed. "This chakra deals with survival and is blocked by fear. It is located at the base of the spine. What fears do you live with? What haunts you during the night?"

Images of Ozai rapidly barreled through her mind and Azula flinched, unable to keep her breathing from becoming erratic. She had lived in fear during her entire childhood, and now, she could feel her body recoil as bruises from her memory littered her body, pain exploding across her face from where her father had smacked her many a time.

She flinched and tried to escape from it, not wanting the memories. There was a reason why she had blocked out the memories! A terrible presence began to claw through her, reaching through the shadows in her mind, and she panicked.

"Stop fighting the memories, Azula," Pathik's voice stilled the rising presence and panic. "Don't push these past memories deeper inside of yourself. Let those memories breathe and let the emotional scars of fear finally begin to heal. Embrace the rising darkness inside of you. Stop fighting and let them flow."

Suddenly, abiding by the Guru's words, in her mind's eyes, Ozai was looming over her, golden eyes sizzling with an unholy spark, Evil himself unable to look at him.  _"You are weak, Azula, a pitiful disgrace to bear Royal Blood, to bear my blood, the very blood of Sozin; my grandfather would be ashamed to have such a pathetic heir to his name, as ashamed as I am! Your disrespect will not be tolerated, and just like your weak and insolent brother, suffering will be your teacher."_  A whimper escaped her parted lips and she felt her hands shake, the fear of her childish self a torment to her, drawn up from the deep recesses of her mind where she had buried it long ago.

"What you are seeing is not real, Azula." Pathik's gentle voice cut through her memory, "Focus, my dear, focus. These images that you see and words that you hear are but only memories; they cannot harm you. You must let them go of these memories from the past, conquer them. Ultimately, they no longer matter. The only thing that does matter is who you choose to be now, and based on what I've seen, you want to be better than your past, want to no longer be afflicted by the pain of your past, the fear that you lived with for so long. The only time that matters is what is happening now, not what happened in the past." Her breathing quickly evened out at the logic coating the Guru's words and Azula calmed her mind. And slowly, while taking a lot of effort, she defeated the memory of her father. Her eyes opened and fresh air entered her lungs for what felt like in a long time, and she felt her inner fire grow just a bit. "Azula, you have my congratulations. You have opened, and by conquering the memories, you have also mastered your first chakra." Pathik smiled at her, and Azula took pride from it. She looked to her side and saw Aang sitting motionless, eyes shut, but what drew her gaze were the clenched fists. " What are you afraid of, my friend?" Pathik asked. "Speak up."

Aang's voice was distant, as if he wasn't in control of his voice, "Failing again, cursed as the Last Airbender, Azula dying and Appa dying again or being taken from me, Vaatu winning, and… being alone."

Azula's eyes widened at his admission and she immediately felt the strange feelings that she had been experiencing since they had left Ember Island growing within her, like fire itself. She felt a heat spread across her face and instinctively knew that she was blushing slightly and tried to snuff it out.

Pathik noticed and he winked at her, drawing a confused frown from Azula. Instead of answering her, he gazed at Aang. "You have done this before, Aang, but instead of being aware of them, you must defeat them. Master your feelings, your fear, my friend, it is the only way. Vanquish them from your mind for they hold no power over you."

Aang's eyes opened and he inhaled deeply. "It was a lot easier the first time," he said softly, drawing his gaze to Pathik.

"Yes, and it was because you were only a child last time, my friend. I knew that if you simply unlocked your chakras back then, it would be for the betterment of the world. You would have never been able to master them as a child, especially as a grief-stricken and traumatized one."

"You're right, so thank you, Pathik. It had definitely been the correct decision, and if I had this much trouble mastering my first chakra, I can't imagine how my younger self would have fared."

"Yes, but you mastered your first chakra and that is all that matters. So, well done, Aang. Do you feel closer to Raava?"

Aang's eyes finally moved to Azula and she nodded her head, showing him that she was fine. He stared at her for a moment before answering. "Yes, I do feel a little closer to her Pathik, but just a little bit."

"Good!" Pathik beamed at them both, "That is to be expected, my friend. You have six more chakras to master before you can access your true power. Now, onto the Water Chakra. This chakra deals with pleasure and is blocked by guilt. It is located in the sacrum. What guilt do you feel? What deeds of your past are a source of remorse?"

When her eyes closed, the nightmarish image of her lightning ravaging Aang's body assaulted her mind's eye, causing another whimper to escape her lips. Aang had forgiven her, but  _how_  could she get rid of a guilt of that magnitude? She had almost killed the man whom now meant more to her than anyone else ever had. Tears prickled her eyes and her fists clenched as she heard her younger self speak.  _"Trust is for fools! Fear is the only reliable way."_  Those words that she had declared to the specter of her mother before her coronation as Fire Lord weren't truly hers, they had been her father's, words that she had heard daily for years.

"Your guilt is in the past, Azula," the Guru's words cut through the memory of Aang's spasming, floating body. "You can do nothing to change the past, but you can release the guilt that stalks you. Let go of the guilt and work to create a better future for you and those whom you care for. Aang has already forgiven you, but it is now time for you to forgive yourself." A tear slipped down her cheek at his words and she wondered if Pathik understood what he was saying. As if it were that easy, to release the terrible and body-crushing guilt that she bore. She had done unspeakable things, and her hands were drenched with the blood of innocents. "Azula, breathe deeply and focus. Do you want these feelings of guilt to remain?" Pathik's soothing voice aided her, and it gave her strength.

"No, I want them gone," she whispered and as she focused, the raging inferno in her mind calmed until only tiny sparks remained, and she slowly opened her eyes and wiped her cheeks.

"Well done, Azula," Pathik nodded his head. "Most people whom I've encountered do not have the strength of character to release their guilt."

"It took me a long time." Aang smiled at her, and the sight, for some reason, made her feel like the entire ordeal had been worth it. "You truly are a prodigy," he teased, gray eyes glowing in the light of Agni's rays.

"Of course," she responded with all of the grace she could muster.

Pathik chuckled, "Now, this will be the last one for today for opening chakras is an incredibly taxing process." He calmed and serenity seemed to envelop him in a blanket, "The Fire Chakra deals with willpower, but it is blocked by shame. It is located in the stomach. Now, what are you ashamed of? When reminded, what events cause your blood to curdle?"

Azula suddenly saw the face of the first man whom she had ever killed, and she had done it at the tender age of six. She had never known who the man was, just that he had been a traitor to the Dragon's Throne and an enemy of her father's, and when under the threat that Ozai would gruesomely beat Zuko even worse, she had, after a second's hesitation, jammed a flaming dagger into the man's throat, sliding it through skin and muscle. And she was watching the memory all over again, the way red had filled her vision as the man's slit throat gushed out blood like a small river in spite of the cauterized slit. The man's eyes had been filled with shock and fear, the realization that his own death was simply inevitable. Then, after several moments, the man's head had slammed back on the ground and blood bubbled from his lips, gurgling as he tried to speak or draw one last breath. And the life had then faded, the change so sudden between life and death, almost imperceptible, as the man's body had become eternally still.

The shameful feelings swept through her mind as other faces soon appeared in her vision, the ones whom she had all killed. And echoing behind them was her treatment of others: of Ty Lee, Mai, Zuko, and her mother upon her return. Then, as she was beginning to become overwhelmed, Aang's body floated in front of them, lightning arcing through his form, and she understood: she had released her guilt, but not her shame. And in front of Aang, was an image of her younger self, hands alight with sapphire flames, a cold gleam in her golden eyes. Ultimately, there was nothing she was more ashamed of than herself, of who she had used to be. She was called 'Lightning Psycho' by Toph for a reason; her sins were unforgivable and would forever taint her, and if she ever had children, the sins of the mother would taint them, too.

"To be ashamed of yourself is normal, Azula, but you must release those feelings, conquering them. Once you do so, you will be able to start anew with the seasons of the world. Release your shame, Azula. You are strong-willed, so use that strength now _._ " Pathik's raspy voice entered her ears and broke through her cloud of woe and self-pity.

She was stronger and she would not let her past actions shame her and dictate her future, and those of her children if she ever had any. She would start anew as she had been trying to since the Great War ended, but this time, she would finally have true peace – and maybe with Aang by her side, too. Inhaling deeply, Azula released her shame and she felt her inner flame grow a little more.

"Nicely done, Azula," Pathik beamed at her, looking very pleased.

Azula looked down at her hands curiously, trying to envision all of the blood, but whilst she could, the shame wasn't truly there, it was a whisper of what she once felt. "I don't think- …no, I know that I could have done any of them without your help, so thank you."

"That is okay, Azula, and you're welcome. Nobody can do these on their own until they master them." Pathik's grace was tangible, "Now, I must focus on Aang. He is having… difficulties." Pathik shifted his body and posture straightened, eyes dimmed, and voice became raspy one again, and somehow, she knew that Pathik has been seeing everything that she and Aang had been since they started. "Aang, my friend, what is it that you see?"

"Sightless eyes of all those who fell by my hands." Aang's voice was flat, emotionless, and it filled Azula with dread. "I ran away from my people, and they paid the invaluable price for my cowardice. The world was molested by the Great War whilst I remained oblivious in the Iceberg, remaining dormant until someone rescued me."

Azula spoke up, hoping that she could offer some sort of comfort to him. While she couldn't relate to the running away part, she could relate to the former for she had much practice in it. "You are ashamed of the lives you've forcefully taken, and I was, as well."

"Yes," Aang's toneless voice was disconcerting.

And she suddenly realized that he wanted to be ashamed, that he wanted to be punished. "You're condemning yourself when you should be forgiving yourself, Aang. Your past may have many painful and blood-soaked memories, but you can create a different future. You are the Avatar! So, start fresh, and clear your forest for it has grown rank and is need of clearing for new growth. Set it ablaze, Aang – it is the only way!" She cried out, hoping that her words would help him break out of the chains of shame that were holding him down.

Aang's eyes opened after several more moments, and his breathing was calmer, and emotion was visible in his eyes as he swallowed. "I can feel her more," he rushed out.

"Good, my friend, you are making excellent progress in renewing your connection to Raava; you will become the first Avatar since Kirku to become a true fully-realized Avatar." Pathik smiled and grabbed a bowl next to him and brought it to his lips, tipping his head back.

Aang then turned to her, "Thank you, I couldn't have done it without you."

She smirked, "Well, I guess you'll just have to keep me around."

Watching as he froze and his eyes darted towards Pathik, she wondered of his mindset, especially when he spoke the words: "I suppose so, maybe,"

The Guru disrupted the awkward atmosphere, "That is all for today, my friends. We will continue tomorrow, so rest up."

"Good, I'm tired," Aang stood up and stretched his arms. "Do you want to eat?" He looked at Azula, eyes sparkling, clear of any doubts for now.

Azula smiled, "Only if you make the fruit pies that you have been telling me about. I'm curious to discover if they are as good as you claim."

"They are," both Pathik and Aang said in unison with completely straight faces, eyes serious.

"I will be the judge of that," she said evenly.

Aang rubbed his hands together, "Let's go, I can teach you."

"You get started, Aang. I would like to speak with Azula for but only a moment." Pathik smiled easily, and Azula narrowed her eyes at the Guru in consideration, knowing that he had timed that, and that he must want her alone for some reason. What was the purpose, though?

The Avatar shrugged, "Okay, but come to the pantry when you're done, Azula." He bolted out of the room with airbending, undoubtedly eager to concoct his favorite treat.

"What do you want to talk about?" She demanded flatly, turning towards Pathik after a moment.

Pathik turned soft eyes to her and sighed, walking over to the bench and he slowly lowered himself on the stone. "Aang is a great man, maybe the best one whom I've ever encountered in my One-hundred-fifty-eight years of life."

Azula raised a brow, "Yes, I know, but why are you telling me something that I already have since discovered for myself?"

"Because I don't want to see him hurt," Pathik said bluntly.

Azula took a step back, cursing herself for agreeing to stay behind, to talk with Pathik. This conversation had quickly become something that was wholly unfamiliar. "What do you mean?" She demanded, feeling defensive.

Pathik's eyes suddenly reminded her that the man before her was older than Aang's 120 years of age - he was 158 years old. "You and Aang are both attracted to each other, well on your way to loving one another already. Your spiritual energy does not lie and neither does Aang's – and neither do your chakras."

Azula's eyes widened and she shook her head almost desperately, wondering about the truth of his words, but couldn't think on them too much, otherwise, she would drown under them. "No, no, no. No, I don't like Aang, Pathik. He's my… friend," she finished softly, knowing instinctively why the last part felt like a physical blow to her heart. My, she had been lying to herself, quite greatly, indeed. She already knew that she was incredibly fond of Aang, that there was an affection for him that she had never felt for anyone else, but did that mean that she was attracted to him?

Yes.

In fact, it was one of the first thoughts that had popped into her mind when Aang discovered her on Ember Island all of those months ago: how handsome he was, how power was carved into his muscles. Then, when they had played volleyball and destroyed any who had dared to challenge them, Azula had often, against her will, found herself wishing that he would take his shirt off, letting her glimpse those… hidden muscles.

She was bombarded with all of the emotions that she had experienced in the past several months because of him. For the first time in her life since far before her mother left, she felt happy; she felt peaceful and secure. She felt safe, and she had never truly felt safe in her entire life, not even with her mother because there was always the threat of her father. For what felt like an eternity, she had lived her life in fear of Ozai, the assassins that he could send after her if he was displeased, becoming a failure in his eyes, and of course, being scarred like Zuko, cursed to forever bear her father's mark on her face.

Azula now looked down at her hands, hands that had killed people mercilessly all for the glory of the Fire Nation, for her father. Everyone in the world loathed her, condemned her for the egregious crimes that she had carelessly committed, but Aang didn't care, though. He accepted her and had forgiven her when she had tried to kill him, and even when she had delivered that deadly lightning strike in the catacombs of Ba Sing Se all of those years ago, he had forgiven her, willing to live with her in the same house, willing to trust her with his life, the Avatar, the most powerful and important being in the Four Nation and both of the Realms.

Did she care for him? If Aang somehow, impossibly died, what would she do?

She cringed at the thought and her reaction was far more of an answer than any words could be. Azula cared for Aang more than anyone else in the world. If he did somehow die, she would be heartbroken, distraught, miserable, and probably suicidal, her mind rupturing once more, but this time, there would be no hope of healing.

Azula's eyes widened as she realized that Pathik was correct, but the question was: did Aang feel the same as she herself did? And matter of fact, had she inadvertently fallen in love with the Avatar? She wrapped her arms around her stomach, feeling vulnerable from the possibilities to each of those questions.

"You have discovered your true feelings, Azula." Pathik smiled, ancient eyes gleaming with happiness and a piece of hidden knowledge that she didn't understand. "Aang does care for you, Azula, much more than he does for anyone else – save for, perhaps, Appa – but you must not confront him – he isn't ready. Right now, from my probing, he is of the mindset that you two would never work, and I believe that that is utterly ridiculous, and deep down, I think that Aang knows that, but he has the thought stuck in his head that you two wouldn't work. From what I've seen, though, you two complement each other perfectly." Pathik tilted his head to the side, sunlight streaming through the window, making him look almost ethereal. "You see, Aang is primarily of an Airbender's mindset: avoid and evade. He will run away from his feelings and deny them. But because of his chakras, for the next couple of days, Aang must deal with his feelings as he masters them. He will be staring at the truth, and he will not be able to look away."

Azula didn't want to think about the feelings of disappointment that bubbled within her because she had to wait, "Then what do you suggest?" She asked curiously.

Pathik smiled kindly, "To wait, as simple as that. Aang will need to be the one who starts something." Pathik sighed, "Aang has dealt with so much trauma, Azula, and it is frankly a miracle that he is who he is in spite of all of the suffering that he has been dealt by the winds of fate. Any other person would have broken under the strain, any other Avatar even."

"He is resilient, like the Earth," she concluded, thinking of how hard it must be to bear the title of the Last Airbender and the Avatar at the same time.

Pathik smiled sadly, "Yes, he is, Azula, but Aang does not trust easily. He previously had during the Great War, a paradox if I've ever seen one, but now that his naivety from childhood has passed, he is wary of others. The fact that he trusts you to look after Appa shows how much he cares for you, Azula. Nobody is allowed to look after Appa, nobody. He was even wary of me when I tried to feed him."

Azula couldn't repress the small smile that graced her full lips even if she had wanted to, the fierce pleasure sweeping through her mind. "I know," she whispered. "Aang somehow trusts me, and I do everything that I can to keep that trust."

"Then, you understand the delicate position you are in, don't you?"

"Yes, I do understand,"

"Good, good, Azula," the Guru smiled, an incredible gladness in his eyes. "Now, go, my newest friend. I'm sure Aang is waiting to show you the delights of fruit pie."

Azula stood up and bowed, "Thank you, Pathik," she exited the room, but not before she heard the Guru's last whisper-spoken words.

She heard a sigh of incredible relief, "Finally, the Airbenders will return to the world once again, and she alone will be the Mother of the new breed of Air Nomads."

Her heart stuttered at his words before a genuine, pleasure-filled smile graced her features. Yes, her destiny was a great thing, indeed.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Aang smiled at the view when he stepped into the courtyard, Agni's rays shining everywhere, but his eyes were drawn elsewhere. He watched as Azula played with Samir near the fountain, finally relenting after the child had been pestering her ever since he had woken up. And surprisingly, although he didn't know why he still felt surprised by anything that she did, Azula knew how to communicate with Samir, knew how to keep her occupied and knew how to entertain the girl and play with her.

"Damn, Twinkletoes, you have the worst taste in women, like ever." Toph appeared beside him, milky eyes somehow mischievously looking at the sight of the two playing close to the fountain.

Aang turned to her, nonplussed, unwilling to reveal his feelings. "What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

Toph shifted, sightless eyes stared into Aang's and he had a flashback of all the sightless eyes condemning him on the trip to the Temple on Appa –  _'Mad Balance-Keeper!'_  the voices screeched but he ignored them. "First, Sugar Queen," she held up a finger, "which I was so relieved to hear was over. Your relationship was much more of a mother and son – quite creepy, in all honesty. But now Lightning Psycho, are you fuckin' insane?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Toph," he replied calmly, staring at nothing. "I have no taste, as you called it, for Azula."

Toph frowned, "You've gotten a lot better at lying; Azula must be rubbing off on you. But then again, you've always been an incredibly gifted liar, always able to think extraordinarily quickly on your feet." She wiggled her toes and Aang was reminded of all the times when he had lied when he was younger, specifically after when he had awoken from the Iceberg. He had blatantly lied about his identity of being the Avatar, he had lied to Zuko when he had surrendered at the South Pole, he had lied in the Great Divide to the two warring clans and fabricated a story to end the conflict, he had lied so many other times, and most importantly, and most often, he had lied to himself.

"They're in the water, aren't they? I can barely feel them." Toph squinted and flexed her toes.

Aang looked to the fountain, where he noticed that, indeed, Azula and Samir had jumped into the fountain, splashing water at each other, and based on the expression on Azula's lovely features, she had never had the opportunity to simply act like a child during her life – or if she did, it had been rare. She was enjoying herself, playing with Samir with genuine enthusiasm.

"Yes," he nodded, pointing at the fountain. "They are both in the fountain. You know what, Toph?" He turned to stare at her, "You should join them in there. It might be good for you."

Toph snorted, an offended expression crossing her face. "No can do, Twinkletoes. You can't get rid of me that easily. Maybe later, but right now there is no way- …why is your heartbeat accelerating?" She sounded alarmed, turning to him abruptly.

He didn't pay attention, instead staring directly at Azula, unable to look away. She had fallen into the water and she had stood up, the water soaking her clothes, making it skin tight, and it left little to the imagination. And the longer he looked, the more that he could glimpse. He swallowed hard and felt arousal sweep through his body and blood began to rush to his organ, the beginning of an erection visible.

Aang swiftly turned to look at his earthbending teacher, ignoring her disgusted expression. "No reason, Toph, none at all." He lied unconvincingly.

Toph raised an eyebrow in derision and hummed, "You do like her, Twinkletoes. Your heart rate might be completely calm and steady when you deny it, but I know that you like her. Once you stop lying to yourself and let go of your delusions, you'll see that as well." She suddenly socked him on the arm, surprising her. "I might as well join the fun, Twinkletoes, I can't stand to feel your arousal for Lightning Psycho." She dashed past him and went to the edge of the fountain, plopping herself on the stone and then sank her feet in the cool water.

Aang watched Azula, unable to help but stare at the forbidden flesh that he could glimpse, saw the outlines of her nipples poke through the fabric, and he shuddered, instead trying to focus on her playing with Samir. She looked happy and echoes of her laughter echoed in the air as Samir lunged at her, pulling her into the water, and abruptly, the words of what Pathik had said floated in his mind:  _'Perhaps you have finally found someone who would be willing to support you as the Avatar by being your wife and help you restore the Air Nomads to their rightful place in this world, prepared to bear an entire nation through her body alone.'_

Was his old friend correct? Would Azula be willing to help bring back his race? Would she be prepared to mother Airbenders instead of Firebenders? Would she be okay with that, with any of it? And did she even care for him?

He didn't know, and because he had been borne to the Air Nomads in this life, evading and avoiding obstacles was second nature. So instead of confronting the questions as he probably should, Aang whirled around and almost ran into Momo's flying form. "Sorry, buddy, I wasn't paying attention." His Winged-Lemur squawked angrily and flew into the hallway, and Aang followed Momo, hoping to find some peace in his mind.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Azula followed Pathik as he led her to a part of the Temple that, supposedly, would help her master her chakras, but she couldn't follow their current conversation because their previous conversation from the day before had been replaying over and over in her mind constantly, words echoing in her ears. Inherently, she didn't like waiting, but she knew that Pathik was right. If she ever, which she honestly did, want her destiny – as the Mother of the Air Nomads, apparently, as Pathik had said – fulfilled, Azula couldn't think like a Firebender and aggressively attack, she needed to be more of a… Waterbender or Airbender.

"Ah! Here we are," Pathik smiled at her. "Aang will be here momentarily, but before he arrives, have you thought about our conversation?"

She huffed, "Constantly, and I've realized that, in spite of my aggressive mindset, you're right, though. It will take time for him to… admit, maybe even years." She said somewhat sadly, referring directly to Aang's Airbender nature, always avoiding the problem.

The Guru nodded, but a hidden gleam shone in his ancient eyes. "I suspect that it will not take as long as you believe, my newest friend. Just remain patient Azula, and Aang will, I guarantee, admit the truth and be ready." Pathik sat in a lotus position in front of her and Azula reciprocated, clasping her fingers together.

"Alright, I'm here, let's get started." Aang suddenly appeared in a gust of wind and sat down next to her, and when he looked at her, she tossed him a small smile and in response, to her delight, his gray eyes sparkled.

"The Air Chakra is the next chakra that you two must master. It deals with love and is blocked by grief. It is located, as it should be, in the heart. Now, what grieves your soul? When thinking of something, what causes tears to well in your eyes? What deep sadness afflicts both of your hearts, even though you try to not let them?"

Azula's eyes closed and she saw Ozai raising his flame-coated hand to Zuko's face, the smell of burning flesh filling her olfactory passages even though the event had happened over a decade ago. She had watched as her older brother, the only person who she had had left after their mother disappeared, was shamed before the entire nobility of the Fire Nation, scarred by their father and then forever banished to hunt the elusive, thought-to-be-extinct Avatar. Then she remembered how she had felt when their mother had disclosed Lu Ten's death. She had never let her tears and sorrow be seen, knowing that if her father found out, she would be beaten heavily, but she had felt shocked and truly saddened over cousin's death – someone who she had sometimes looked up to like an elder brother after Zuko, someone who had played with her when she was younger and had shown her the secret passages. Then, she remembered the sight of Fire Lord Azulon's body being set ablaze by her own father at his funeral, the gleeful expression on her father's face, the knowledge that her mother wouldn't be able to save she and Zuko any longer, and the knowledge that her mother had murdered her grandfather.

She had always been fond of Fire Lord Azulon, her namesake, for he had never threatened her unlike her father and hadn't ever acted silly to her and Zuko like their uncle. Her grandfather had seemed powerful, so mighty that he could conquer the entire world, and so calm that she enjoyed his presence whenever she and Zuko and their mother had eaten dinner with him. And then, the greatest grief that burdened her heart: her mother fleeing at the dead of night, somehow finding time to say goodbye to Zuko, to declare how much she loved him, but she hadn't done the same for Azula. On that damned night, Azula had hidden in her brother's room, unbeknownst to him, ready to wake him up and pull him into the secret passage if their father entered his quarters. But when her mother had appeared, relief had filled her, and she had known that her brother wouldn't be killed, only for the relief to morph into heartbreak and despair and grief as she understood what had happened; her mother had done treasonous things to keep Zuko safe and she was fleeing from the Caldera. Azula had followed her mother after she had exited the room, sneaking past Zuko's confused, sleep-poisoned gaze, and she had noticed that no guards where present – a sight that had horrified her, given her a sense of such terrible, ominous foreboding. She had long since mastered the art of stealth, something that her brother hadn't learned until his banishment, but she had known that the only reason why her mother hadn't noticed Azula's trailing form was that of her emotional upheaval.

When her mother had stopped at the door to her room, Azula had been prepared to dart out of the shadows and hug her mother's legs, begging her not to leave when she opened the door, but her mother hadn't opened the door, just staring at the beautiful engraved Dragon.  _"Forgive me, my precious daughter,"_  she had whispered, placing her hand on the door, and then she had left, leaving Azula heartbroken in the shadows. Dreadful questions had echoed in her ears, tormenting her: Was she not good enough, unworthy of her mother's love? Why hadn't her mother said goodbye to her as she had to Zuko?

Looking back now, she recognized how her father had eagerly pounced into her psyche after her mother had disappeared, after he had become Fire Lord following her grandfather's murder, whispering that her mother had thought that she was a monster, incapable of love and happiness and peace. Azula may not be physically scarred like her brother, but her mental and emotional scars ran far deeper than her brother's, she was certain, and it was, ultimately, because her mother had never said goodbye; the echoes of that decision by her mother were still painful and, with her eyes remaining shut, she finally began to look past all of the grief, conquering it.

"Love is such a complex emotion, more so than any other." Pathik's voice echoed in her mind, dispersing all of the memories and images, helping her to glimpse all of the love, all of the grief transforming into the original emotion of love. "All the love that has been taken from you still lives inside you. You may think it gone, but it is not. It has instead been reborn anew."

Azula saw Aang grinning in her mind, eyes sparkling, and his deep, joyous laughter floated in her ears, bringing her peace. She felt the security that she experienced when he was around and how he would listen to her rant for hours without judgment or condemnation. It was true that she had healed somewhat after the Great War mostly on her own with Zuko's help, but it was Aang who had brought her to this point, to this moment when she could finally lay her haunted past to rest, to indulge in her inheritance that she received from Fire Lord Sozin by conquering over the painful memories. It was because of him that she was happy with who she had become, was peaceful with her chosen path.

The only reason why she was still alive, why she still had her firebending was that of Aang. Thoughts and images dashed through her mind, painting a picture of her deep affections and fondness for the Avatar, the Last Airbender. And it declared the truth: she… loved Aang, and from what she now knew, her destiny was side-by-side with that of the Avatar's himself. A brilliant, never-before-experienced peace descended through her heart, washing away all of the grief and pain that had once resided there. And while she did feel slightly annoyed that she had been so blind to understand the depths of her own feelings and emotions, it was easy to accept that she did, in fact, love Aang, and that all of the love that she had ever felt in her entire life lived on in him.

"Well done, Azula, you have mastered your Air Chakra." Pathik winked at her knowingly and Azula knew that he had observed everything that she had felt. She didn't care, though, he had already known about the depth of her emotions for Aang when she herself hadn't. She refused to be embarrassed about something that she had no reason to feel shameful about.

Before she could respond to the Guru, Aang abruptly opened his eyes and he stared directly at her, inhaling deeply, puffing his chest outward. To her delight, Azula suspected that what he had seen was her, and she actually let herself feel the strong emotions that thought brought with it. Although she craved to know who he had seen, clarifying that it had been her, she wasn't going to press and potentially frighten him.

"A lot easier this time, Aang?" Pathik said knowingly.

XxXxXxXxXxX

He swallowed, the images still floating in his mind's eye. "Yeah, it was, Pathik," he responded, unable to keep his eyes away from Azula, continuing to stare at her. When he had unlocked the Air Chakra the first time all of those years ago, he had seen the idea of Katara, the life that he had wished to live before he had ever found out that he was the Avatar. But this time, when he was mastering his Air Chakra, fully triumphing over the unimaginable grief in his heart, he had seen Azula, just Azula with all of her flaws, deeds, and past. And it brought forth an epiphany that he had suspected but was still terrified by: he loved Azula, flaws and all, and while she was nowhere near perfect at all, she somehow was in his eyes.

"Good, my friend, that is very good," Pathik smiled shrewdly and closed his eyes. "Now, we aim to master the Sound Chakra. This chakra deals with truth but is blocked by lies. Most specifically, the lies that we tell ourselves. It is located in the throat. What lies have you fed yourselves? What mountains of falsehoods have you erected to hide the painful truths?"

Before he had agreed to master his chakras, Aang had known that the Sound Chakra would be the most difficult to master, but he refused to let his fear hold him back. Quickly, allowing the words to wash over him, his mind saw Azula and all the lies that he had told himself about her.  _'She tried to kill me, managing to almost permanently end the Avatar Cycle in the catacombs of Ba Sing Se. The two of us, no matter what Pathik declares, would_ _never_ _work; she doesn't like me, and I don't like her. At most, she's_ _just_ _a friend.'_  He gazed past those whispered deceits and glimpsed all of the lies that he had told himself so he wouldn't be angry with the Gaang over abandoning him after the Great War, and the greatest lies that he had told himself: the lies about the death and destruction that he had caused during the Great War and beyond.  _'Those lives were only taken accidentally, they had to be! It wasn't_ _me_ _– that was the Avatar State! One of my past lives was controlling me, probably Kyoshi, thus forcing me to do those monstrous things. I would never do that, no matter how distraught and angry I was!'_  Aang then remembered all of the lies that he had declared to himself about the Air Nomads.  _'They're not_ _really_ _gone; all of the survivors, and there must be many, are just hiding, that's all. I'm not the Last Airbender, and Airbenders still exist in the world. There_ _are_ _more out there, there must be. Otherwise, I would truly be the Last Airbender and that just can't be, it can't! I can't be alone, please! Yes, yes, the other Airbenders are probably hiding on the backs of the other Lion Turtles – that's why no one has seen them! Everything will be okay, and I'll find the remaining Airbenders!'_  All of the lies began to coalesce together, blurring the images and thoughts until he could no longer understand them, and throughout it all, he heard the screeching ghosts' voices:  _'Mad Balance-Keeper!'_

"Aang, these lies and words are all in the past. You must let them  _go_ _._ " Pathik's voice cut through the memories.

He shook his head, eyes still sealed shut, memories drowning him. "I can't! Everything would change," he whispered brokenly.

"Not necessarily," Azula pointed out, her voice easing his heartache. "You already know the truth deep down, it is just blocked by all the lies. Remember Pathik's words?  _'What mountains of falsehoods have you erected to hide the painful truths?'_ I know better than most about lying to cover the truth – every good lie contains a truth."

She was right, he realized. Aang did know the truth. He was a murderer, betrayer, and liar. As the phantoms had decreed, he was slightly mad, but who wouldn't be under the knowledge that he was all alone and all of the sufferings that he had experienced since his awakening from the Iceberg? It was true, he was the Mad Balance-Keeper, but he didn't need to stay that way. He was more than just the Mad Balance-Keeper: he was Avatar Aang, Master of the Four Elements and energybending, he was the Last Airbender, he was the man who was in love with Azula, and he was the man who will restore the Air Nomads and become the Father of the new race of Airbenders.

Slowly, his eyes opened, and he felt his connection to Raava increase even more. What was once hidden by all of the lies that he had fed himself, was now open and free, the truth now known to him.

Pathik tilted his head at him, "Well done, Aang. Here, have some onion and banana juice, my friend, it will help you recover." He held out a bowl, the juice inside a dark and ominous-looking color.

Aang gratefully took the offering and downed the contents without hesitation. "Thank you, Pathik, it's just what I needed."

"Would you care for some onion and banana juice, Azula?" Pathik beamed at Azula, holding another bowl in her direction tantalizingly. "I created the recipe myself and mastered it over a century ago."

Azula shook her head. "No, maybe next time," she tried to keep the disgust out of her time, but she was not successful, golden eyes flashing with revulsion.

Pathik shrugged and downed the bowl instead himself, smacking his lips after he swallowed. "That's the stuff, isn't it? Now, we move to the Light Chakra, the last one for today. It deals with insight and is blocked by illusions. It is located in the forehead. Now, what illusions have blinded you from gaining true insight? What keeps you from deciphering the perceptions that you live by?"

Aang saw bending itself, the element arts of waterbending, earthbending, firebending, and even airbending. Avatar Kirku had said that some of the original teachings of bending had been lost because new – yet not correct – ways to draw their bending from their chi have been utilized. Misconceptions have blinded humans from learning the true power of bending. He saw the belief that he and Azula would  _never_  work, that they were too different, and too much bad history between them. He saw the belief that the Avatar was the spirit of the world, spread by the Earth Kingdom in hopes of controlling the Avatar. He then remembered the airbending scroll –  _'_ _Let go of the misconceptions that plague you. Enter the void and become the wind.'_ He released all his illusions, the misconceptions that had always been there even though he never knew it.

Almost immediately, he felt weightless and his connection to Raava strengthened even more. Aang opened his eyes and two things stood out to him simultaneously: he was exhausted, and he was floating, untethered from the Earth.

It had worked, he had done it!

He had let go of his misconceptions, thus allowing him to unlock the ability to achieve true flight! Euphoria swept through his mind and Aang, under his own power instead of Kirku's, levitated higher, a huge grin splitting his features. He had to be careful, though, because even now, he could understand why the unnamed Airbender refused to tether himself back to the Earth in the face of Avatar Keska's orders for Aang himself felt the strong urge to never touch the ground again. Feeling the Earthbender within him, he grasped his renowned control, refusing to allow himself to go even more insane than he already was by staying untethered. He slowly lowered himself, body becoming one with the ground once again, the knowledge that he could become weightless ever-present.

"Well done, Aang, you have done it!" Pathik beamed at him, ancient eyes shining with pride. "Gyatso would be so proud of you, my friend, I know it!"

Aang swallowed, nodding his head, the phantom of Gyatso that had tormented him extinguished under the truth. "I know that he would be proud, too," he said softly, no longer hearing the screeching of his old Master and the specters. "He was always proud of me, even when I made such… stupid mistakes. He made me into who I am," his mind drifted to the past, and to his surprise, he no longer viewed those memories with sorrow. No, those were amazing memories, ones that he would  _always_  cherish, and they would be thought of as such.

"Nicely done, Avatar, it seems that you are becoming stronger every day." Azula teased, golden eyes glimmering beneath Agni's rays.

He smiled, nodding his head in her direction. "I'm fulfilling what I'm meant to – I am the Avatar. I can't change that, have never been able to, so I'm going to stop trying. This is my destiny, and I need to stop running from it."

"You might want to stop running from… other things, too, you know?" Pathik said mischievously, eyes blatantly darting to Azula.

Thankfully, though, before he could attempt to distract Azula from noticing, she interrupted. "What are you going to do about Samir's dreams, Aang? She has revealed to me that she is sleeping better, but she still feels the darkness."

"I honestly forgot," he said sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. "I'll get started on it. What was it that Vaatu had said to her again?"

Azula raised an eyebrow, "You don't remember?"

"I've kind of had… other things on my mind," he said unapologetically. "I know that you remember it, so can you refresh my memory?"

"Very well," she shook her head in amusement. " _'Lies seem true, but they cannot be. Know the truth, I must disclose to he. If the Avatar knows not these discontents, it will be cause for another war and dreadful events. Expose the truth and they will never again from memories fade, but if they are not known, the Realms will instead be wandered in eternal shade. So long as breath is drawn and eyes do see, the Avatar must converse with me. The fate of both Realms is at hand, so you must find the Avatar, child, I do demand. If he doesn't speak with me, hearing of all of the potential woes, he will find that I am the most awful of foes.'_  I must say that it sounds quite dire."

He nodded his head, "Any ideas, Pathik? Should I speak with Vaatu?"

Pathik's brows furrowed, "Have you further contemplated the magnitude of your abilities for energybending, my friend?"

"No, but what does that have to do with Vaatu or Samir?"

"If you wish to know about what I think about Vaatu, then I believe that he is attempting to trick you, using Samir as his tool to pierce your defenses. But something more important: what have you noticed about the child? How does she act? How does she behave?"

Aang didn't see the reason for Pathik's question, but answered dutifully, "She has gray eyes like mine. That was the first thing that I noticed, actually. She is very patient, has an abundance of spiritual energy in spite of being a non-bender; she reminds me of you, Pathik, actually, in that regard. But there's something strange about her… energy, though. It somehow feels like the…" his head snapped up to meet Pathik's gaze. "It feels like the Air Nomads' energy – I'd recognize it anywhere," he breathed out.

Pathik nodded, "Yes, I noticed it immediately, and I reckon that the reason why you didn't notice immediately would be that of your mind combating ghosts."

He felt the floor sweep out from under him, "You- …the ghosts, you know about them?"

Azula leaned forward, intrigue carved into her lovely features, "Wait, ghosts? What are you talking about?" Something that resembled comprehension glowed in her golden eyes and she whirled to stare at Aang. "That's what you were experiencing when you blacked out on Appa, isn't it? You were talking aloud to no one, and your words were slurring together."

"Yes, Aang, I do know about the specters that had been haunting you, but they are in the past now." Pathik smiled kindly, "We needn't speak of them, though. Samir, for whatever reason that I know not of, has the energy of the Air Nomads and she would, indeed, make a powerful Airbender." His words floated in the air and Aang felt himself stagger by the weight behind them. He had just accepted that there were truly no more Airbenders, snuffing out the lies in his heart and mind, so why had Pathik brought this up? "Matter of fact, my friend, she reminds me quite a bit of you when you were younger."

"Actually, I could see that," Azula pointed out. "Whilst I had mostly been trying to capture or kill you, there are similarities between the younger you and Samir. Are you certain that you're not… her father?"

"I'm aware now that she would be a great Airbender, but she's not an Airbender! She can't bend! And yes, I'm certain that I'm not her father," he said heatedly, hating the fact that he was being further reminded that there were no more Airbenders; in spite of knowing the truth, it was still painful to know that he was the last one.

Pathik looked at him gently, "Just think, Aang, I spoke about energybending and airbending. Why do you think that I would do that?"

Aang almost breathed fire, "What? What do you want me to think about? Just tell me!"

"Aang can give Samir airbending, can't he?" Azula suddenly rushed out, golden eyes shining with the discovery of new knowledge. "If he can take away one's bending by using energybending, then he could give someone bending, too!"

"Yes, Azula, Aang can begin the rebirth of the Air Nomads by giving Samir airbending. Only those with the correct mindset and beliefs can be gifted a specific element by an Energybender, so it would be incredibly rare for you to find an individual who could be given airbending like young Samir – her age is truly a blessing in this scenario."

After a stunned silence, he looked down at his hands, his tattooed hands. Bitterness threatened to overwhelm him because that knowledge would have saved him from so much heartbreak and anguish if he had known at the end of the Great War, but if he was honest with himself, he could understand why Pathik hadn't ever said anything, though. Aang hadn't been ready for he had still needed to mourn for the old until he was ready to give birth to the new.

"But how does this factor into Samir's dreams?" Azula questioned.

"She would have more success in repelling her dreams if she became an Airbender," the Guru explained. "A bender, no matter the element, has more chi energy than a non-bender, with the Avatar having an unimaginable amount. The chi energy can – amongst many, many other things that I haven't time to discuss – be used to ward off any unwanted invasions to the mind or spirit."

Aang nodded because that made sense. "Why do you think that she is having these dreams? Why would Vaatu torment her?"

Pathik looked out the window, at the structure of the adjacent tower, "As I already said, I suspect that he is using her to somehow entrap you, thus giving him the opportunity to kill Raava."

"Do we know that it's Vaatu, though?" Azula questioned, "Why must it be him?"

"Only a spirit, a very powerful spirit, could enter someone's mind and influence their dreams continuously." Pathik sighed, "Vaatu is the only powerful spirit who makes sense; why would any other spirit torment Samir with dreams of darkness, speaking heavily about the Avatar and how he would be an awful foe?"

Aang stared at Azula, not wanting to truly talk about Vaatu any longer. "Do you want to tell Samir that she can, potentially, become an Airbender, with her nightmares losing their potency, or should I?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "You are the one who would give her airbending, not me, so it should be you, Aang. Also, I think that it would mean more if it came from you. She did run away from Ba Sing Se, the only home that she had ever known, just for the faith she held that she would be able to have the chance to talk to you."

"You're right, of course, I'll tell her," he agreed, and looked to Pathik. "We'll finish tomorrow, then?" He asked, alluding to the final chakra.

Pathik nodded, "Yes, tomorrow you will both feel the full potential of your power, you specifically, Aang. Azula's abilities will be rivaled to the ones that she had possessed under Sozin's Comet. Now, go tell Samir the good news, my friends, I'm sure that she'll be ecstatic."

XxXxXxXxXxX

Samir was understandably shocked, "Really?" Her gray eyes sparkled with joy.

Aang nodded kindly, smiling down at her, feeling excitement exist in his words. "Yes, for the next several days, I am going to show you what it means to be an Airbender. If you do well, then I will… gift you airbending."

"But what about my dreams?" The girl asked shyly after several stunned moments.

"I will help you with them, okay? I promise,"

"Even the voice?" She looked up at him timidly, fear beginning to creep into her gray eyes.

Aang pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back gently, "Yes, even the voice, Samir. I'm so sorry that you have had to suffer from that voice for so long."

"It's okay," she sniffed against his chest. "Why does this person want to talk to you so badly?"

"I have no idea, Samir, but I do know that I will make these dreams stop, okay?"

"Okay, thank you, Avatar Aang,"

"None of that, none of that," he shook his head. "Call me Aang, please,"

Samir giggled quietly, nestling into his chest, shocking him. "Okay, thank you, Aang,"

Tomorrow, after mastering the final chakra, he would enter the Spirit World to speak with Vaatu. He knew that Pathik didn't agree with his decision, but he needed to understand everything and although the Spirit of Chaos and Darkness was dangerous, Aang was even more so.

XxXxXxXxXxX

"This will be the hardest to unlock, Azula. Are you ready?" Pathik asked seriously while Aang felt a fierce excitement beginning to burst inside him. He would finally reconnect with Raava!

"If Aang can do it, then so can I," she smirked, eyes challenging him and Aang shook his head in exasperation; she knew how hard it had been for him the first time – and that had just been unlocking the chakra, not mastering it – and yet she was determined to make a competition of mastering their chakras.

Pathik's eyes gleamed with amusement before he smiled encouragingly, "Okay, we have approached the end of this journey, my friends. The last chakra is the Thought Chakra. It deals with pure cosmic energy and is blocked by earthly attachments, and it is located in the crown of the head. This does not mean, though, that you cannot have bonds with others. What it means is, is that you cannot let your attachments distract you from the necessary actions that need to be pursued. Now, what attaches you to this world? What or who would keep you from reaching your fullest bending potential."

Aang saw Appa, his best friend, and he watched as Momo chirped at him from his mind's eye. And standing in the saddle, on top of Appa, Azula smirked down at him, motioning for him to join her, and he felt the urge to, indeed, join her – stay by her side for as long as she allowed him. He also glimpsed the memories of his people, the Air Nomads, the remembrance of Gyatso teaching him, caring for him when no one else would. Then, finally, in the background, he saw Zuko, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Suki. He still cared for those who had abandoned him, betraying his trust, and the sight of them helped him soften his heart towards them a little more. With Pathik's words echoing in his ears still, he was ready to let them all go, and this time, it was  _so_  much easier to do so than the last time all of those years ago.

He watched them dissipate in a gentle breeze, and all of a sudden, just like it had happened during the Great War, he was standing on the bridge of pure cosmic energy. He looked up and stared at the huge body of himself, and he immediately noticed that something was clearly different from before. His counterpart's body was much larger, bursting with primordial energy and power as it sizzled through the enormous body like veins themselves. And these veins, like they did in a human's body, all led to the heart, and in the heart, in the very middle of his counterpart's cosmic-powered chest, was Raava's floating form, pure light drifting off of her in wisps of brilliant energy.

Before he could truly think about what he was doing, he bolted forward and leapt into his counterpart's massive body, diving directly into Raava. The power was unimaginable, yet it was soothing instead of overwhelming, bringing him love and peace as it all flowed from her into him.  _"Hello, Aang,"_  her voice echoed, bringing tears to his eyes.

"I missed you, Raava," he was unable to keep the tears at bay, and they began to stream down his face slowly, the realization that he was finally connecting with who he truly was, his true destiny overpowering him.

" _And I you, Aang. We have a lot of work to do. I've been waiting for you, knowing that you would always be the one who would fully bear the truth of your title, the Balance-Keeper. Indeed, balance will be restored by you and we will never give up until it becomes reality."_

He wiped away his tears, "I know, but I believe it will be far easier now with you there with me." He embraced Raava, his connection to all his past lives strengthening even further and his power increased immeasurably. Joy spread through him because he could feel how much he had missed her, and she him; they had been apart for thousands of years, but now, they would never be separated again. Wan's memories and every other Avatar until Kirku himself assaulted his mind, showing him the loneliness that he had felt for the past thousands of years without ever knowing it. "It's so good to see you again, Raava. I swear that all who succeed me as Avatar will know the truth of our identity, no more lies about the World Spirit!"

" _We will never be apart again, Aang, I know you will see to it. I have faith in you."_ Raava's voice echoed in his mind,  _"We are bonded forever, and we will always be together in all of your lifetimes."_

Aang came back to his body with a gasp, eyes opening in surprise, the connection with Raava ever-present, his energy flowing through him like a contained maelstrom of absolute power.

"Congratulations, Aang, you have finally mastered your chakras." Pathik beamed at him, "I'm proud of you just as I know Gyatso would be. You are the first, true fully-realized Avatar since Avatar Kirku."

The sorrow that usually came after a declaration like that, didn't make an appearance. He felt peace flood his heart, "Thank you, Pathik, you have brought me back to Raava. You are forever a friend of the Avatar, no matter the incarnation."

"You're welcome, Avatar Aang," the Guru bowed his head. "Azula is having trouble, as I feared she would, so perhaps you could be of assistance, my friend."

Aang turned to Azula's tensed form, observing her clenched jaw and the shaking hands. "Azula," he called out. "By mastering this chakra, the one that I had the most trouble with the first time, you will be at your fullest potential. When you master this chakra, it doesn't mean that you become emotionless, incapable of love or peace or happiness, never able to connect with anyone. I know that you can do it, Azula. You are one of the strongest people who I have ever met, and you challenge me to be better." He hesitated and swallowed, "Without you, I wouldn't be where I'm at. You have made me better."

He watched Azula's form quiver, fists clenching and unclenching, lips parted in effort, and a small coat of perspiration was beginning to become visible on her face. "I can do this," she muttered like a mantra.

"Yes, you can, Azula," he agreed. "Just let go of your earthly attachments with the knowledge that whoever you see will always have the capacity to be in your life, no matter this mastered chakra."

Several seconds passed and then her golden eyes snapped open, blue fire erupting from her lips. "Amazing, I feel like I'm under Sozin's Comet!" Excitement and pride and awe was carved into her features and Aang basked in the sight.

"Congratulations, Azula," Pathik smiled with pride. "You have now achieved your true potential; your firebending will burn brighter than ever."

Azula bowed, "Thank you, Guru Pathik."

Aang observed her delighted form, the beautiful smile on her face and he felt peace ascend on his soul, a feeling that somehow rivaled the feeling he had received from Raava, if not surpassed it. The Air Nomads might be gone, but the love that he felt for his people lived on in her _._

XxXxXxXxXxX

**Wow! That was quite a doozy. Took me a while to write it. Tell me what you think.**

****I was always curious about how nobody else in the Avatar universe, Korra herself included, was never shown 'unlocking' their chakras. Now, maybe it's just an Avatar thing, but I changed it so that mastering chakras, which is actually triumphing over the emotions that can block chakras, unleashes the greatest bending potential one can achieve. To me, it seemed that Aang had merely become aware of the emotions and realities that could block his chakras instead of conquering over them. I know in the show it had shown him kind of defeating them, but since he was only a twelve-year-old boy, I don't think that that was necessarily plausible, especially since his chakras could still easily become blocked.**

****If you had thought that Katara would do a magical reversal in terms of her actions and thoughts, sorry. Big changes like the one that she is undergoing take time, so she will still have her moments of idiocy and naivety.**

**That's all for this one, everyone, so if you tell me what you thought about it, I'd really appreciate it.**

**_Stay Safe_ **   
**ButtonPusher**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender**

XxXxXxXxXxX

Azula watched curiously as Aang meditated with Samir; his back was tense, but not stiff, his posture was steady and relaxed, looking natural while his firsts were held in front of him, elbows bent, knuckles resting against their twin, and his breathing was soft. He was sitting in the Lotus Position on the edge of the Air Temple, and if it were anyone else, she wouldn't be surprised if they fell off, but Aang had, from what she had gathered, done this ever since his first memory. It was in his blood, the Air Nomad-bred way.

This was the last day of the second week when Aang had begun to teach Samir the ways of his people, and while the girl seemed to be quite adept at following his instructions and memorizing his teachings, she still needed a lot of help. Aang was incredibly patient, though, always smiling down at Samir and endlessly encouraging her, and it was then when she realized that Aang wanted to give Samir airbending regardless of how… slow she learned. The way frustration would boil in the girl until she calmed herself actually reminded Azula quite a bit of Zuko from their younger years. Whereas Zuko was a slow and almost-illiterate learner, plus a late-bloomer, Azula herself was a prodigy, always had been.

But now, she didn't necessarily feel like a prodigy, though, and she hadn't for some time. On Ember Island, Azula had shared with Aang how she had bent her first flame at only three years of age, expecting him to be awed like everyone else – even her father – had always seemed. He hadn't been awed, not even a little; instead, he had looked unsurprised and unruffled, almost unconcerned of her prodigious past. Azula had been disgruntled, almost indignant, and so she had asked him when he had first bent when he was a child.

Aang had only laughed, insisting that she wouldn't believe him, but she had continuously pressed him, eager to hear of his answer. He had eventually worn down and told her:  _"I don't remember when I first began bending – I was too young."_

" _That's not an answer, Aang,"_ she had pointed out, almost pleading for with him to tell her.

" _I was less than a year old when I first accessed my airbending gift and talents; I've always been able to bend since my memories start. Gyatso and all of the Elders always regaled me with the tale of how, when I was only months old and playing with my toys, the ancient relics of the Avatar, I was blasting tiny, yet strong gusts of wind at the toys to move them around; the bending arts, no matter the element, including earthbending after I grasped the mindset, has always been as easy as breathing for me."_

Ever since he had revealed that, Azula felt sort of felt passed-over. For as long as she could remember, she had been the best, invincible in her ability to understand and perfectly replicate the bending forms. At the same time, though, she now also felt relieved that even more pressure, pressure that her father had always placed on her to be the best, was taken from her shoulders. Based on what she had seen from Aang, and how effortless he could fly around without a glider, simply being one with the Air, and bend all of the elements in a majestic show that left her breathless because of her awe, she knew it was a title that he deserved. She didn't know if he was a natural prodigy, far beyond any who she had ever heard of, or if it was because he was the Avatar, but she believed it to be a combination of both.

"Am I doing it right?" Samir suddenly asked, "Can I be an Airbender, now?"

Azula watched as Aang hesitated, "Not just yet, you must do one more thing before I can… determine if you… qualify." She winced slightly at his choice of words, wondering if he realized how… callous he had sounded; it reminded her somewhat of her father. "Can you do that for me, Samir? Only one more thing, okay?"

"Okay, I can do it," the girl nodded her head in determination, features scrunched up.

"Good, now I want you to feel the air around you," he instructed. "Become a part of it, and be the air itself, let its energy flow through you and embrace the change that you feel in your soul. But most importantly, what do you need to be?"

"Oh, Airbenders need to feel free!"

Aang grinned down at her, "Yes, exactly, so I need you to be free, okay? I won't help you this time, you need to learn to do it on your own, and I'll gauge your progress."

Samir seemed to relax, her face losing all of the determination, and instead, a peace replaced it. "Like this, Aang?"

Azula hadn't seen Aang look so relieved since he had seen Appa after he had awoken from his coma after the slaughter of Ba Sing Se. "Yes, you did it! You're going to be an Airbender!" In a blurred motion, he pulled the girl into a fierce hug, burying her into his chest. "Thank you, thank you, Samir. You've made me feel very happy."

"So, you'll give me airbending, now?" Samir seemed to move her head up to look at him.

Aang stared down at her with great pride and he laughed joyously, and tears welled in his eyes if Azula wasn't mistaken. "Yes, I will give you airbending, you've earned it – and you deserve it, too! Kneel down on the ground, okay? I will place my thumbs on your forehead and chest, and you'll feel strange and you'll also fall asleep? Are you ready?"

"Yes," the girl nodded her head and did as she was instructed and Azula leaned forward, aching to see this power, the same one that had taken her father's bending, the most powerful Firebender of any of the previous Fire Lords.

Aang inhaled deeply and as he had said, placed his thumbs on her forehead and chest. He closed his eyes and his face became harder than stone, becoming terrifyingly blank, so similar to the Avatar State when the lifetimes-powered version of him had stared into her soul in Ba Sing Se. Azula didn't like that expression for it reminded her far too much of her father in her older years.

The air came alive, swirling around the room in a show of power, and Azula didn't dare reach out to touch it, afraid that she would somehow kill Samir. A vortex of energy approached Aang, spinning so fast that all she could see was a magnificent blur. And then it was gone, Aang exhaling slowly as he released Samir, reaching down to catch her before she collapsed.

Azula stepped closer, gazing down at Samir's unconscious face, afraid that she wasn't even breathing. "What happened? Is she all right?" She asked, beginning to feel concerned when Samir remained frozen.

"She fell asleep, remember? Her body will be… undergoing a metamorphosis, a rebirth, you could say. She is now an Airbender, but her body must adjust to the onslaught of energy in her chi; while she already had energy there, it was insignificant compared to the energy that I just used to flood her chi, changing it until it resembled an Airbender's."

"And how long will she remain in… rebirth?" She frowned and leaned down, narrowing her eyes as she saw a… ripple cross Samir's face. "What's this? What's going on?" More ripples appeared and before her stunned eyes, the girl's features began to change, becoming something new. A lot of the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom coloring vanished, replaced by features that looked identical to Aang's.

Azula whirled up at Aang, thankful that he looked as baffled as she felt. His eyebrows narrowed and rose, trying to make sense of everything. "I didn't know that that would happen,"

"What did happen? She looks like you, it's uncanny. She could actually pass for your daughter now; it's not just the eyes, it's everything."

Aang swallowed, looking to be panic-stricken. "I don't understand. Energybending shouldn't… cause changes in one's physical appearance. It's only in the chi! Ozai didn't look any different."

"You took away my father's bending, though, while giving Samir bending. I suspect that there's a crucial difference. You said that her body must adjust, right? But what if it also changes physically to compensate until Samir looks more like an Airbender, more like you because it was you who used energybending to give her airbending?"

"That makes sense and seems to be the explanation," Aang said in a daze, looking overwhelmed. "My chi is what turned her into an Airbender, and her own chi would try to… try to copy as much about me in terms of airbending as possible."

"I think that she's waking, Aang," she said pointedly. "The changes must be fully-rooted,"

Gray eyes suddenly met gray eyes.

Samir blinked several times and flexed her fingers. "I feel different," she admitted shyly, looking down at her hands. "Am I an Airbender, now?"

Aang frowned, "That's good, you're supposed to feel different, and yes, you're an Airbender. Congratulations, Samir".

Just as she was about to speak, Samir's eyes face contorted in discomfort. Then,  _ACHOO!_

Samir sneezed and a gust of wind exploded against the stone, a gentle breeze sweeping outward that swayed through Azula's hair.

"She's definitely an Airbender," she concurred, recognizing that this was a historic moment; for the first time in over a century, a true Airbender, one who wasn't the Avatar, would walk the world.

Azula smiled slightly as she knew that her destiny was to help the cycle along, to help Aang until the Air Nomads filled each Air Temple. Looking at the two Airbenders, the joy on their similar-looking faces, reflected in their gray eyes, she knew that she would never wish for a different destiny.

XxXxXxXxXxX

The Temples of the Air Nomads were all about freedom, becoming one with the wind, and isolating oneself from the world below. There was peace at each Temple, a rarity in the Four Nations, and maybe that was why he loved the Temples; maybe it was because he was born to the Air Nomads in this life. He honestly didn't know, and he honestly didn't care; he was content to feel the peace that he hadn't felt since before he was told that he was the Avatar over a century ago.

"I won't have any bad dreams?" Samir pulled him out of his recollection, her own gray eyes peering up at him vulnerably, the features that now looked so similar to his own no longer frightening him. She was trying to go to bed, hoping to have a good night's sleep for the first time in months.

Aang nodded, his features softening into something tender when he observed the features that were his own without the fear. "Yes, Azula and I will be here to ward off any darkness, okay?" Aang smiled gently down at Samir's fatigued face, "I promise that you will have a good night's sleep, my newest Airbender." A fierce pride and love filled his heart as it was the truth.

He was no longer alone in the world; the Airbenders were returning.

Samir smiled tiredly, her eyes falling shut. "Thank you, Aang," she nestled into the bed and Aang stepped over to the windowsill, observing life below.

The valley was bathed in a majestic golden color from Agni's setting form, and the Eastern Air Temple overlooked everything. The trees below were little specks in the distance and the sky protectively dwelled over the ravine.

He had been born in this Temple, and although he held no memories of his birth, he could still remember the first time when he had actually traveled to the Eastern Air Temple with all the other kids of the Southern Temple to be placed under Mother Superior Lio's care. She had taught each of them how to bond with a Sky Bison, citing that by feeding them an apple, you drew the Sky Bison's attention, and when picking your animal companion, a tug in your soul would decide which baby would bond with you in an ancient ceremony.

Aang had, indeed, felt a fierce connection with one of the baby Sky Bison from the moment when their eyes had met. He could still remember it; as if he had been in a trance, he had plucked an apple from Lio's basket and approached the Bison's form. It had been strange because the baby had been away from the others, waiting for him, staring at Aang with the same glazed eyes. Aang had held out the apple and immediately, the Bison had slurped it out of his tiny hand, tongue wetting his skin. "Appa," he had then breathed out, and then for some reason, they had both begun to weep, clutching each other like long, lost friends.

Now, looking back at those events with a mature mind, after much consideration, Aang firmly believed that each Avatar has an animal companion in their lifetime. Roku had Fang, he himself had Appa, he felt pretty sure that Kyoshi was bonded to a Badgermole if his gut feeling was correct, and he intrinsically knew that Kuruk had a Polar Dog as an animal companion for his reign of over half a millennium as Avatar.

What if an animal was reincarnated with the Avatar through the Four Nations, becoming their greatest friend to live with them throughout all of their lifetimes? It made sense. When Aang had first seen Appa's eyes, he knew those eyes. It hadn't been the color, or the emotions swimming in their depths. Maybe, it had been the sparkle, but he didn't care. While he still had no clue about what it was, he knew that it had been something about them that he had remembered from lifetimes ago; they had been familiar.

When Appa had been stolen by the Sandbenders in the Si Wong Desert, Aang had never experienced such overwhelming rage, not even when he found out that he was the Last Airbender. Back then, when he had been staring at Gyatso's skeleton, that was just his own grief and anger – and maybe the grief of every Air Nomad Avatar. Yet, when he had found Appa missing during those tumultuous days in the Si Wong Desert, he had felt blistering fury below the surface that wasn't his own, yet it had been at the same time. All of his past lives had been angry, he himself was angry, and if he was being honest with himself, he had truly wanted to go on a rampage; he had yearned to kill everyone in sight, hunt down the Sandbenders and make them suffer as they had forced him to suffer when they stole Appa. His soul had been cracked and the only remedy for it was for Appa to return to his rightful place by his side.

When Appa was returned, from Zuko's doing he had later learned, he had wept for hours, and it hadn't been just him weeping in relief; it was Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, Yangchen, Jinzhai, and all those who came before him. His soul had begun to mend, to heal thank to the presence of his best friend. While he had stuffed down his grief after the couple, Than and Ying had given birth to their child, Hope, he had still been devastated and had had trouble looking at his own hands, hands that were tattooed with arrows just like Appa's arrow on his fur. For weeks, he had been broken, the rift growing with each passing day, and just when it had all seemed eternally hopeless, Appa had escaped from Lake Laogai, from the duplicitous Long Feng, and Aang healed; the events had traumatized him, though, for he was now, even after mastering his chakras, always wary of others with Appa – only Azula was someone who he trusted to watch his best friend.

And when Appa had been struck down in Ba Sing Se, Aang had gone on a divine, blood-soaked rampage. He had slaughtered the Earth King, the Council of Five, and most of the Dai Li as if they were helpless children. Honestly, there was a chasm in his heart that had enjoyed it. Maybe it had been truly Kyoshi who enjoyed it, but it didn't actually matter. You see, in essence, he was Kyoshi, so he did, in fact, enjoy it.

When he had finished his slaughter, he had raced to Appa's side in the blink of an eye, drawing upon his power to bring his best friend back from death itself. He had even used bloodbending as a tool to help repair the busted vessels and capillaries, and Aang had listened to all his past lives' advice, the best way for him to bring Appa back. He had followed their instructions perfectly and he had felt the inner parts of Appa's body repair themselves, mending what was broken and making it anew. Every injury that his friend had ever experienced, he had fixed it and when he had succeeded, and his friend opened his eyes, he had wept once again in relief, all of his past lives joining him; later on, after he had awoken from his coma, he realized that by healing his best friend from death itself, he had made Appa stronger than any other Sky Bison to exist, repairing everything until it was perfect, a perfection that had never before existed.

"Is she asleep?" Azula's voice drifted into his ears, interrupting his thoughts, and he welcomed it.

Aang turned away from the windowsill, taking in Samir's slumbering form. "Yeah, she's asleep,"

Azula effortlessly slipped into the room unheard, aligning herself next to him, no space between their bodies, "So, how will this work, the catching of  _Dark_  in the act of tormenting Samir?"

"I will feel any presence that enters this room, spirit or human. If  _Dark_  does enter her dreams, I will repel him back into the Spirit World and follow him, hunting him down, vanquishing back into the Tree of Time once more. I refuse to let him gain more power. You can join me if you wish."

Azula smirked, "You didn't truly think that I was going to let you go alone, did you? Plus, it will help me see how mastering my chakras has changed me." She shrugged and powerful blue flames ghosted across her fingers, "My firebending is just as it was on Sozin's Comet, but I'm curious about going to the Spirit World. The legends say that it is most fearsome, particularly the thorny areas of the Gardens of the Dead."

Aang nodded his head, slightly surprised that she even knew about the Gardens of the Dead, but he figured that most spiritually-attuned people were; she had been able to converse with his past lives, something that only a spiritually-attuned person could do.

"It definitely can be," he agreed, remembering his own experience the first time in the Spirit World during the Siege of the Northern Water Tribe all of those years ago. "If you do come with me, you must follow my instructions, okay? If you don't, your spirit has a real possibility of never returning to your body."

Azula raised an eyebrow, "How so? Why?"

"Time flows differently in the Spirit World; it's not like the Mortal Realm, not one bit. Your spirit can easily become lost in the Land of Spirits; a millennium could pass in the Mortal Realm, but it might only feel like several minutes in the Spirit World. So, by the time when your spirit connects back with your body, there might not be anything here in the Temple left except for a husk of bones for you to reconnect with. Do you understand?"

She hummed, not looking scared at all, and he was thankful. "So, I guess that you'll have to be stuck with me, Avatar," Azula smirked, and she leaned even closer, her breath softly colliding against his face. "I can be quite- "

Aang swiftly put his hand over her mouth when he felt the energy of a powerful spirit buzz against his senses. "He's here," he whispered into her ear, ignoring the feelings rushing through his body at having her so close.

Azula stared at him calmly, eyes widened just a bit, and she only nodded. He then slipped his hand away and she licked her lips, "How do you want to do this, then?" Her voice was a near-silent whisper, golden eyes burning with expectations.

He didn't answer, instead motioning for her to follow him as he stepped closer to Samir's slumbering form. Her sleeping face slowly began to show signs of distress, and fearing that the dream had reappeared, he placed his hand on her forehead and closed his eyes, intent on banishing Vaatu back into the Spirit World.

It was a powerful one that had the energy of darkness, but strangely enough, it held the energy of light that resembled Raava's almost. Aang's eyebrows furrowed as he dug deeper, realizing that it wasn't Vaatu; the feel of this spirt was familiar, but who was it? Where had he experienced this neutral aura of energy before, one that was light and dark all at once, a paradox beyond any other?

 _"Avatar…"_  a voice hissed and Aang's eyes snapped open in alarm, in dread and realization.

Koh.

He had been blinded by the knowledge of Vaatu that he had forgotten about the Face Stealer, had been unable to recognize him immediately! It was all obvious, now, the true endgame of Vaatu's designs; he had convinced Koh to help him escape from the Tree of Time! Only a spirit of immense power could help Vaatu escape from the Tree of Time, and there were few spirits in existence who possessed power that could even give the Face Stealer a cause to pause; even the threat of Kuruk's wrath hadn't deterred him from stealing Ummi's face!

He felt Azula touch his arm and he looked down at her rapidly, "It's Koh!" He hissed out, watching as her golden eyes widened minutely before a determined glint shone like Agni himself in her orbs.

" _Come find me, Avatar, you must! It is the only way for much to be discussed! My patience has run out and the girl has been my flood! Careful, or my tide of frustration will sink your neighborho'd!"_ Aang grit his teeth and swiftly sat down in the Lotus Position by Samir's bed. Azula followed and in tandem, they struck their fists together and closed their eyes.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Luscious-looking trees were everywhere, white shadows wisping around the ground, covering his legs, and it was dark, but it didn't bother him, even when he couldn't see below his waist. Where was he, though? Vaatu had declared him to be in his vicinity, but as far as his eyes could see, his savior was nowhere.

The plan was to find the Earth Spirit, not end up in this unusual forest filled with aggravating white shadows that seemed to be alive; how was the Earth Spirit here? Shouldn't she be in the Spirit World, but he knew that he wasn't in the Spirit World for Vaatu would have revealed himself. What forest in the Earth Kingdom had his ally dumped him in?

Realizing that no answers would come by waiting, he breathed out a magnificent fire that bloomed from his lips, splitting the darkness in front of him for a brief moment. He then cracked his neck and journeyed forward, hoping to find or feel some type of sign that the Earth Spirit was here. What would she look like? Did she resemble how Agni had looked? Was she literally created of the earth, of dirt and soil and hard-as-metal rock?

He silently stepped beneath a vine descending from a tree branch and observed his surroundings, angered by the fact that he was still alone. That wasn't the plan! Vaatu was supposed to be by his side, aiding him in his search for the Earth Spirit. Yet, could he truly be surprised, though? Their mindsets were remarkably similar, and it sounded like something that he himself would do, abandoning your lone ally to prove… strength, perhaps?

Then again, his companion often did things that he himself had no clue of, vanishing for hours or even days at a time. At first, he hadn't minded because it had thankfully given him time to rest –  _sleep is a weapon!_  – and contemplate his future, the new reality that he would herald, but he did wonder what his ally was doing.

After years of waiting, in the most unexpected way, his plan of becoming a god to rule over the world was finally coming together in a way he had never even imagined.

It was going to be glorious.

He suddenly came upon a cave and narrowed his eyes, feeling that something was off about it; it was no normal cave. A strange energy washed over him as he stalked closer, fire coating his fists, ready to attack any threat that revealed itself. The cave wasn't natural, it had been built, maybe by an Earthbender, but something was different, though, for he had seen the signature of a Master Earthbender when he had hunted down the Order of the White Lotus' members; this cave was saturated with an energy that was beyond any Earthbender's.

Had he found the dwelling of the Earth Spirit, and if so, why was she in the Mortal Realm instead of the Spirit World?

He heard a noise and without hesitation, he punched his fist forward, jets of fire swarming forward, begging to destroy any who dared to oppose him, to try and attack him.

Nothing happened after several moments and the glow of his flames illuminated how long and marvelous-looking the cave was; realizing that he had no better option, he growled, teeth gnawing into teeth, whipping around, eyes scanning everything in sight for a sign. "SHOW YOURSELF! I am in no mood for the games of prey and predators!" His eyes spotted something amiss, the strange cracks in the wall in perfect harmony, and they looked like fingers scraping something. "Last warning!" He called out, and when no response was received, he inhaled deeply, all of his muscles tensing, bulging as he unleashed his fire in ways that ignited a sizzling in his blood, his fire-filled blood.

The flames roared and swarmed everywhere, sparking and burning every stone and vine and moss that was visible. A red atmosphere descended around him, fire blazing and razing down the stone until nothing remained of the cave.

He stalked out of what once was a cave suspected of holding the Earth Spirit, white shadows hiding his legs from view once more. He paused and considered his options: he could turn back, or he could continue forward.

He was no coward, so he journeyed onward.

Time had quickly lost all meaning as he trekked through the astronomically-sized forest and when he felt the urge to howl like a beast, like the Dragons of legend, he finally found something. It was just like Vaatu had said: an enormous tree stood before him, seemingly as tall as the clouds themselves and it was wide enough to be the size of Ba Sing Se itself. He stared at the tree in wonder and contemplation, wondering how he was supposed to find the Earth Spirit with this tree.

"I see that you've finally found it, Ozai, it took you long enough." Vaatu's voice echoed behind him, sounding amused.

The former Phoenix King turned around. "No thanks to you," he snarled out, spittle flying past his lips. "It took me hours to find this fucking tree! Where have you been?"

Vaatu floated closer, dark energy following him intimately like a shadow. "I've been busy, my friend, preparing for the Avatar." Ozai glanced up at the tree as Vaatu continued, "This tree was created by Devi herself, her baby that she nourished like no other. It's in the heart of this forest; every other tree is connected to it through the roots beneath the soil. We must destroy it to force her to come out, and then I will take us all to the Spirit World.

"You can take me into the Spirit World?" Ozai breathed past his shock, "I've heard that no human can bend there, though!"

"That won't be a problem, Ozai, I know several tricks that bypass the limitations imposed on the Realms. And soon, you will be anything but a mere mortal; you will be a god. Now, why don't we desecrate this tree that will lead us one step closer to our goal? I know that would make both of us feel better."

Ozai grinned maliciously, fire spurting from his clenched fists. "Let's," he agreed and blasted his flames at the tree in a wave of calamity. Bark and wood exploded off and sizzled through to the center of the tree, but after several moments, the tree seemed to repair itself almost instantly. "What kind of tree is this? Did the Earth Spirit bless it?"

"Indeed, Devi did bless this tree to exist forever, pouring a lot of her power into it, but you and I will succeed. It has vast spiritual energy, but if we continuously damage it, it will, in time, be destroyed. To catch my fellow spirit, Ozai, you must release the barriers of restraint- "

"Never had any," he corrected. "I understand, though: I must turn my inner flame into a monstrous inferno. It doesn't mean that I can't enjoy the spectacle of watching fire work to its greatest potential." He continued his blasts, and Vaatu joined him, dark blasts of powerful energy exploding out of the mighty spirit's chest, and Ozai's mind drifted.

After his defeat during Sozin's Comet by that fucking  _boy,_  he had been thrown into the most secure prison that his worthless son could think of; it hadn't been the Boiling Rock as he had expected, but one specifically built beneath the Caldera's Palace, probably so that the  _traitor_  could keep a close eye on him. It's what Ozai himself would have done in his treacherous son's place.

For years, he had rotted in that blasted cell, and even though he had concocted countless plans to escape, to regain his inner fire that the Avatar had stolen from him so that he could retake his rightful place as the Phoenix King, ruler of the new world who would rise from ashes of the weak, none of his plans had come to fruition. He had yearned for death, it would have been better; the Avatar had been excessively cruel. The boy had been too much of a coward to kill him, but that boy had been more than willing to condemn Ozai to an eternity in the dark without his fire.

His enmity had burned brighter – and it still did - than Agni himself, but no one would help him gain his rightful vengeance; he had had to admit that his son was certainly clever, showing traces of his mother. All the guards who had secured his cell changed shifts at every dawn and dusk, none of them were the same – at least, he didn't think that they were; their faces were always hidden behind the skull masks of the Imperial Firebenders. In all honesty, the  _traitor_  could have used peasants to bring him his food.

The greatest memory that he had from his time in prison was when the traitor had come to him in a fierce rage over what he had discovered from Ursa.

Ursa.

Oh, how he truly loved her! When his father had introduced her to him, Ozai had been instantly enthralled with her beauty. Then, as he had gained insight into who she was, he realized that she was perfect, a way for him to secure a subtle victory over his prodigious older brother. First of all, Ursa herself was a prodigious Firebender, and that guaranteed that his children through her would be prodigies, especially when he had learned that his wife-to-be was the granddaughter of Avatar Roku - an Avatar! Such overwhelming fire would flow the veins of his children and Ozai had been proud when she came to him, declaring that she was pregnant.

Then they had been married with his father's blessing and Ozai had glimpsed all of the other traits that he loved about her: Ursa was smart, cunning beyond any other, and she had a strong backbone that his stupid son would later inherit. She was perfection in mortal form and for a while, he had been happy, charming his wife into his bed multiple times a day and he had even sired a daughter from her body, a prodigy beyond any who he had seen save his father – a girl with his blood who rivaled her grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon himself! It had been glorious to know that his two children through Ursa would grow into powerful Firebenders, ones who would fully secure the world in the Fire Nation's grasp.

While Azula had always lived up to her potential as a child, and then some, Zuko had been nothing less than a failure. For a long time, his stupid son hadn't even been able to bend, and in those cursed times, he would have killed his son for making him look pathetic, look like a cuckold if it hadn't been for Ursa, his father, his brother, and the Fire Sages' assurances that his son was a Firebender.

When his son had finally used firebending, Ozai had felt grandiose relief, only for it to morph into fury when it had been so pitiful. His son, the firstborn of his name, of his very blood, had been a disgrace! His fucking brother had won again; Lu Ten, while nowhere near the prodigious might of his father, had been strong and it seemed that he would clearly grow into a Firebender of the highest order. Iroh had always heralded his son around, declaring that the boy would ascend the Dragon's Throne after his death, and Ozai had wished to herald Zuko around, to showcase a strength that wasn't there.

How his son had disappointed him!

Ozai had always known that he himself was the Spare Prince, the disposable son who had murdered Fire Lady Ilah, a crime that his father had always hated him for, never able to be Fire Lord, but how he had always wished to be! With Iroh alive, and with a son to his name, though, Ozai's dreams of ruling the Children of Fire had been nothing more than an illogical fantasy.

Then the winds of fate had willed Lu Ten's death and Ozai hadn't been as happy since his marriage to Ursa. When his brother hadn't returned to the Caldera, he had pounced in opportunity, demanding an audience with his father under the excuse to showcase Azula's talents.

It hadn't gone as he had anticipated, though. He hadn't understood why his father couldn't see reason, couldn't see that Agni himself had wished for Ozai to rule. So, knowing that it was his destiny to be Fire Lord, he had crafted a plan, and with the knowledge that his daughter was listening in on the encounter between him and her grandfather, he used Fire Lord Azulon's words as a weapon designed to place Ozai on the Dragon's Throne.

It had pained him to manipulate his wife by his father's 'order' over the traitor's death, but it had to be done; he had needed to rule as Agni dictated – it was his birthright, not Iroh's! Lu Ten's death had proven that Agni believed his brother to be incapable of sitting on the Dragon's Throne, something that Ozai had always secretly known.

His brother had always been soft-hearted, even during his scourges of the Earth Kingdom and his hunt for the elusive, thought-to-be-dead Avatar. His father, though, hadn't seen it, nobody had except Ozai himself – and it had always felt infuriating! It didn't help that Iroh was the perfect Prince, the son who Fire Lord Azulon hailed as General, the Dragon of the West. More than anyone else, Ozai knew how powerful of a Firebender Iroh was; he still held the burn scars to prove it, and for his entire childhood, he had fiercely struggled under the shadow of his mighty brother – and the fact that he had killed his mother entering this world, too. He had never been good enough; his father and brother had both always resented him because of Fire Lady Ilah's death, and while the Court never knew that he had killed her, they certainly knew that he wasn't cared for, that he was the Spare Prince, the Weak Prince.

Honestly, Ozai did have to admit that they were all correct, their titles true; his firebending had been so egregiously pitiful – just as Zuko's later was. Maybe that was why he hated his son, the knowledge that they were so similar? He had trained to be better, though, trained and trained until his bones splintered, his muscles rupturing from the grueling regime that he had forced himself to complete each and every day; results never appeared in spite of his hard training, in spite of his yearning to be the best, to somehow make his father proud of him, to show that he was more than just the murderer of his own mother.

It wasn't until when he had met Ursa that his firebending became the roaring inferno that it became known to be as by the time of his ascension to Fire Lord. Under her help and gentle tutelage, he had flourished, mastering firebending to a level that hadn't been seen. Apparently, he had been a late-bloomer, and if rumors were to be believed, legend says that Sozin himself was a late-bloomer; Ozai had taken pride – and still did - in the fact that he was similar to his esteemed grandfather, the one who was hailed as a god across the Three Nations during the Great War.

For years, Ozai had waited for Zuko to show the spark, but his pathetic son had never done so. When he finally did bend his first flame, which was when he was seven-years-old, the destructive aura of energy didn't encompass Ozai's son, and it was truly then, during that moment, when Ozai had realized that his son was a disgrace to bear the legacy of Sozin. He had given his son every chance to prove him wrong, but Zuko never did. So, knowing that if Zuko had been somehow murdered and that he wouldn't feel sorrow if that were the case, Ozai fabricated the story about the encounter in the Throne Room. Ursa had come to him stricken, begging him not to do it, to say that Azula's words weren't true. It had pained him to see her so distraught, but he had only told her that there was one way to keep Azulon's order from coming to fruition, to keep her beloved son alive.

After a moment, Ursa had nodded and, together, they had concocted the plan to murder the Fire Lord.

His wife had succeeded just as he had known that she would - she was magnificent, like a phoenix rising from the ashes of a war-torn world. She had killed his father, the Fire Lord, the most powerful Firebender in the world, Sozin's son, and then she had vanished like smoke after a mighty fire.

That had been unexpected, not part of the plan! Their agreed-upon plan had been for her to kill his father and then return to their chambers! Instead, she had left him to impose herself in self-exile. He had been shocked! He hadn't wanted her gone, not one bit. He had never cared that she murdered his father, only that she was by his side, but what had she done? She had abandoned him, leaving him to rot in the vestiges of her presence. Although he had never known why she had decided to change the plan, he suspected that it had to do something with Zuko and Azula. If so, it was ironic: the mother of his children had been reduced to ruin by a parent's folly.

He had sent his best spies scouring the Fire Nation and parts of the Earth Kingdom for years, but they had never returned with anything, and slowly, he had begun to resent Ursa. Who was she to decide that she could leave him? She was to be by his side when he ruled over the world! He still loved her just as he always had, but ever since, hatred had taken a deep seat right next to that love.

Ozai had constantly contemplated the thought of killing Zuko like he had 'said' that he would but could never go through with it; it wasn't because of moral reasons, not at all. He held no qualms with killing his spawn. No. Ursa would never return to his side if she discovered him to have murdered one of her two precious and beloved children.

So, when the traitor had stormed into that accursed cell, declaring to him that he had found his mother, Ozai had been flooded with bafflement, with shock and rage. How could his pathetic excuse for a loyal son find Ursa when Ozai himself had almost spent a decade searching for her?

On that day, that good day, his son had actually impressed him for only the third time in his life. Zuko had made him feel proud for the first time since he had stood up to him during the Eclipse, somehow re-directing his lightning blast back at him, and when Ozai had, for whatever stupid reason, thought that Zuko had slain the Avatar.

The rage that had burned in the golden eyes that were identical to his own, the powerful fire that had been unleashed through clenched fists, and the heated hand that had wrapped around his throat with the threat and promise to kill him had shown Ozai that Zuko truly was his son.

Indeed, the boy had become very powerful, his fire had melted his entire cage. Only the greatest Firebenders in the Royal Family were capable of such a feat in such a short amount of time: Sozin, Azulon, Ozai, and now, Zuko. They were true rulers of the Fire Nation, the ones to dawn the mantle of Fire Lord, the ones above all of the others.

He had then dared his son to end his misery, to just finally complete the cycle, but his life's blood had continued to pump through his body.

When Zuko hadn't killed him, Ozai shouldn't have been surprised, but he was. He had been filled with anger and disappointment just as he always had been in regard to worthless son. By killing him, Zuko would have proven that he was willing to murder his father in order to secure the Dragon's Throne, something that was rightfully his, just as Ozai had done with his father. Zuko was his son. A dark power clung to his blood just as it did Ozai, Azula, Iroh before Lu Ten's death, Azulon, and Sozin. He had seen that dark power in the boy's eyes when he was being held by the throat, and Ozai had craved for his son to do it, to prove to him that he was willing to murder him just as he himself had sentenced Azulon's murder. If Zuko had killed him on that day, Ozai would have died prouder of his son then he had ever felt before.

Zuko hadn't killed him, though, instead choosing to leave him in that fucking cell for more years of darkness without his inner flame that the Avatar had stolen from him.

Things had seemed hopeless, but then Vaatu freed him from his torment. A voice had been whispering in his dreams and a connection had solidified between them. Ozai had understood what his destiny would be as the Phoenix King: Light would soon fall, and Darkness would rise to vanquish it, led by Ozai himself. The Avatar would feel death intimately, and by his own hands, that fucking boy would cease to exist forever, no more Avatar Cycle.

Darkness had then swept him out of his cell and deposited him on a strange island. There, he had met Vaatu. The mighty spirit had shared the plan that had been eons in-the-making. Ozai had learned much from his ally: how it was Vaatu who had actually started the Great War by controlling the Fire Spirit, Agni from his prison in the Tree of Time, and how Agni had then controlled Sozin into starting the war after Avatar Roku's marriage so that the chaos of war would strengthen Vaatu, giving him enough power to escape from his prison.

Under his influence, Agni had tasked Sozin into leaving Avatar Roku to die on a volcano and slaughter the Air Nomads to destroy the Avatar, leaving no threat to Vaatu. Somehow, the Avatar had eluded Vaatu's gaze and Sozin's grasp for a century, but the Great War had accomplished what it was meant to: the carnage had filled the Spirit of Chaos and Darkness with immense power, but it hadn't been enough. He had needed more if he was to break free from Tree of Time, and more did come. All of the raids in the Earth Kingdom after the Great War had gifted him the power necessary, and along with Agni's help, he broke free from his prison.

Vaatu had then revealed to him the true origins of the Avatar and how the spirit planned to become an Avatar, too, just as his counterpart, Raava did. After understanding what had been offered, Ozai had immediately knelt before Vaatu, offering himself as the spirit's vessel; he himself had a fierce score to settle with the Avatar and even when the boy was only his worthless son's age when Ozai had seared his mark into Zuko's face, he had been shown how much more power the Avatar held, more so than any other. He recognized that if he wanted to destroy that fucking boy who had stolen his fire, he needed Vaatu as much as Vaatu needed him.

It was a perfect partnership.

The mighty spirit had accepted and then rushed into Ozai's body, filling him with power far greater than Sozin's Comet. It had been a different type of energy, one that was different from his inner fire; it had been divine, cosmic power that surpassed anything.

With Vaatu still inside him, power bursting through him, Ozai had noticed that a man made of pure fire had appeared on the strange island, staring at him intently. The man had had two heads, one warped and monstrous, grim and resolute, black flames a beacon to his eyes, and the other head had been filled with orange and yellow and red flames, a kindness and almost purity on his face; the second head was much smaller than the other head, though, like a small pebble next to a mountain-sized boulder, but each head's eyes were glowing purple, a similar color to Vaatu's energy.

Ozai had fallen to his knees before the Fire Spirit.  _"Mighty Agni, Father of the Flame,"_  he had said with absolute respect. Suddenly, one of Agni's hands had gripped his face, and then his inner fire had roared back to life, the Dragons fighting in his spirit once more. Realizing that his firebending had been restored, he had gasped in awe, tears falling down his face at the feel of it.  _"You have my eternal gratitude, Provider of Power."_

Agni's larger head, the one depicting carnage and atrocity, had chuckled darkly.  _"You will play a role greater than you know, my son. You will burn and blacken this world until you rule it, and it is my pleasure to gift one of my strong children as Vaatu's vessel. Become the god who you were always meant to be,"_ the Fire Spirit had said and then vanished in a streak of lightning.

Vaatu had then relinquished his hold and told him the rest of his plan: search for the other Elemental Spirits and coerce them into gifting Vaatu and thus, Ozai their elements, sway prominent figures in the Material World to his side, slaughter the Order of the White Lotus, destroy the Avatar - Raava herself – and then become the new Avatar with Ozai as his vessel, bonding them together forever in the same way that Raava was with Wan and, subsequently, every Avatar who had come after him. Vaatu would create his own Avatar Cycle, the inherent opposite of Raava, and they would battle in every lifetime and the Dark Avatar would kill the Light Avatar every single time.

Ozai had had only one question for Vaatu after hearing of the plan:  _"When do we start?"_  If Vaatu had had a face, he had known that the mighty spirit would have been smirking maliciously, matching the smile that had been coating Ozai's own face.

The first thing that he had done was to rest his body – and his mind, too. In that loathsome cell, his son had ordered the guards to constantly wake him up in the middle of the night, probably hoping that he would slip and reveal something about Ursa. Ozai's father had given him one memorable lesson in his life:  _'Rest is as much a weapon as any bending or sword. Sleep is a weapon, remember that.'_  He had taken that lesson to heart and had always made sure he had a restful night's rest during his reign as Fire Lord. For several weeks after regaining his firebending, he had rested his body and mind, waiting patiently for the time when he would finally destroy the Avatar with Vaatu's help.

Once he had finally been fully rested, Vaatu had tasked Ozai with acquiring prominent figures from the humans to join them. After much consideration, he had then traveled to Ba Sing Se, seeking to sway the King Kuei to his side, believing that the buffoon would, based on his daughter's findings, easily be manipulated by his words. During his journey, he had realized that it was a good thing that nobody of importance in the Earth Kingdom had ever actually seen his face before unlike his brother's. The peasants had, no doubt, but the Nobles had not, and Ozai had been counting on that.

He had easily passed through any security measures, showing them forged paperwork, and by the time when he had arrived in Ba Sing Se's Palace, Ozai had been more than ready to begin his plan. It had been so easy, too easy to sneak into the palace, laughable in all honesty. He had found King Kuei, the Dai Li, and the Council of Five in session, and then he had silently slipped into the room:

_Ozai looked at the King of Ba Sing Se with a critical eye, observing the man as he waited in the shadows for the opportune moment to strike. Apparently, based on what he was seeing, the buffoon had become more of a Dragon, patient and emotionless until his prey was trapped, and then he would unleash the famed fiery rage. It seemed that King Kuei had learned the games of the High Class; Azula's report had detailed the opposite, and Ozai found himself feeling impressed with this King Kuei. Maybe, the man would become actually useful, instead of just being a tool to gain the Earth Kingdom's army, specifically the Dai Li._

_He was not blind to the intense enmity that the Earth Kingdom held for the Fire Nation, for him specifically, but if he could promise them vengeance, they would be begging to join him, and then he and Vaatu would have an army of Earth and Fire to challenge the Avatar._

_Ozai then acutely observed the Dai Li as they stood stock-still, the very pinnacle of what any Child of Earth could become. Azula had swayed them to her side during Ba Sing's Fall, so for him to do so would be effortless. The hardest, though, to convince would be the Council of Five; they were hardened Generals who had seen their fellow soldiers' blood spilled by Fire, who had lost loved ones, and whom all hated the sight of red. Ultimately, he wasn't too concerned about the Council of Five, of the Earth Generals because he had a plan for them._

_After observing for another moment, timing his approach, he then stepped into the light, clapping his hands together mockingly. "Nicely done, King Kuei," he called out as all eyes glared at him, hostility poised through their bodies. "I was wondering, pray tell, how you actually plan to change the Avatar's mind? He hasn't done anything to quench your thirst for revenge against those of Fire, so I doubt that he would change his mind now after years of preaching peace."_

" _Who are you?" General How demanded, trapping Ozai's feet inside the Earth. "How dare you desecrate King Kuei's presence?"_

_Ozai smirked, "I'm a vengeance-seeker, like all of you. You see, Fire has wronged me, shamed me when I was going to be magnificent." Shaking his head in loathing, he lied through his teeth. "I was a non-bender who had been borne to one of the Noble Houses, a disgrace to my family's name. No matter what I did to prove my worth, I was scorned by my own nation, my parents, ridiculed and eventually banished from my home. I am a man who desires revenge more than anything,"_

_Kuei had raised an eyebrow in response to Ozai's story, "Why do you come here, then? Do you seek to reap destruction on your own nation?"_

_Nodding eagerly, easily falling into the role of a foolish man seeking retribution, Ozai contained his glee. "Yes, I want the Fire Nation to be destroyed by the very element that they worship, but I need your help to do it, King Kuei." He noticed that the Generals were listening closely and that they had all lowered their guard, not believing that he could possibly be a threat._

_Ozai almost laughed at how simple and easy it was to manipulate them all._

" _What do you propose?" General How then released Ozai's trapped feet. "The Avatar has denied us our rightful vengeance!"_

_Ozai's eyes gleamed with promise, "Someone as ancient as the Avatar can give you the opportunity, though. Vaatu, the Mighty Spirit of Chaos and Darkness, the creator of this world, has awakened from his forced slumber! He was betrayed!" He cried out dramatically, eyes wide with truth, "He was unjustly trapped by the Avatar eons ago, and he needs your help to destroy the lying and treacherous Avatar! I know that the Avatar hasn't given you the vengeance that you crave, but Vaatu will, and then with your help, he will destroy Fire and the Avatar who has wronged us all!"_

_Kuei smiled cruelly, eyes interested. "This is such a fascinating story, but I don't believe that I caught your name…" he trailed off._

" _Piandao," he supplied, lying easily through his teeth. He had always hated the swordsman for the rumors that had circulated through the Court about Zuko, ones that declared that Piandao had made Prince Ozai a cuckold by sleeping with Princess Ursa before their marriage. For a while, Ozai had contemplated those rumors to find the truth, but he knew that Zuko was of his blood, everything proved it: he looked like him, he was now a powerful Firebender, and Agni hadn't destroyed him when he first sat down on the Dragon's Throne after Sozin's Comet._

_When Ozai had killed Piandao, along with any and all of the White Lotus members who he could find with the aid of that boy who Vaatu had rescued, after he himself had been freed from his prison by Vaatu, the spectacle of witnessing the light leave the non-bender's eyes had sent delicious chills down his spine. Now there was beauty in the fact that Piandao would now be known as a traitor to his people through history; nobody would remember Piandao as a swordsman who couldn't bend, but rather as the herald of Vaatu._

_It was his ultimate revenge on the man who he had hated with a fierce burn._

_Kuei nodded in acceptance, "Piandao, I am inclined to believe you, but how do we," he gestured to himself, the Dai Li, and the Council of Five. "How do any of us know that you speak the truth? You could be lying, trying to manipulate us."_

_General How then butted in before with a shout before Ozai could respond, face contorted into a mass of suspicion. "Matter of fact, King Kuei, why should any of us trust someone borne of Fire? He may not be a Firebender, but he very well could be a spy sent by Fire Lord Zuko to cripple us all!"_

_Ozai's eyes narrowed in malevolence and he gnashed his teeth together, attempting to grind them until they turned to dust. "I loathe that traitor more than anyone else alive!" He screamed, spittle polluting the space before him, "I want to dance over his headless corpse and desecrate his name, searing a scar over his other eye to match the other one!"_

" _You can't possibly mean that…" General How suddenly looked unsure after Ozai's words, his confessional performance. "To rebel against the Fire Lord is treason, everyone knows that."_

" _Fire Lord Zuko," Ozai snarled in disgust. "That fucking traitor isn't worthy to be declared 'Fire Lord.'" He dismissed How's remark and turned to Kuei, "I implore you, my lord, join Vaatu and he will make all of your dreams a reality." He said passionately, infusing his voice with charm, truth, and ambition._

 _The King was tempted, it was easy to see, but Kuei just only needed a little push to fall into Ozai's trap. The once Phoenix King knew exactly what 'push' Kuei needed. "King Kuei," he began respectfully. "If you don't believe me, believe him," he pointed to the door._   _For several seconds nothing happened and General How stood up, no doubt to order the Dai Li to kill Ozai for mockery but then darkness descended through the door, suffocating everyone except one; instead, he felt invigorated by the feel of his companion, "Allow me to introduce to you to the mighty VAATU!" He roared out, glee filling him._

_The shadows gathered together into a ball of unholy darkness and then the globe shrunk and Vaatu appeared before them all, looming over like death itself. "Thank you, Piandao," the ancient spirit floated past Ozai and stared down at the Children of Earth. "So, you are the Earth King. Did you doubt my associate's claim?"_

_Kuei's face was ashen, chalk white. "No… my lord! I was simply… I was hesitant to believe him! He is of Fire!"_

_Vaatu hummed, "That is true…" the spirit then floated over towards the Dai Li. "Hmm… strong Earthbenders. You will all be useful in my eons-long crusade for vengeance against the Avatar." Vaatu glanced at the Council of Five and dismissed their presence, floating back to align himself next to Ozai. "Will you join us, Children of Earth? If not, you are then our enemies and it would be such a waste to kill all of you…" Vaatu trailed off, the threat issued and received._

_Kuei, after a long and tense moment, stepped down from his throne, both the Council of Five and all of the Dai Li following; in unison, they all kneeled before Vaatu's floating form. "I am a child of the Earth; my word is my bond. My body, heart, soul, mind, and destiny are surrendered to your will, Vaatu, Spirit of Chaos and Darkness." They all spoke at once, the echoes of their oath filling the room with an impressive baritone._

The plans had come together beautifully after gaining the Earth Kingdom's support, and a new mission had been undertaken: acquire the Fire Sages and any of the other Elemental Spirit followers. Vaatu had then sent Ozai to the Temple of Avatar Jinzhai, home to five of the many Sages of the Fire Nation. Ozai had planned to sack each Temple all at once, but it was improbable; he hadn't been able to appear at all of the Fire Avatar Temples simultaneously. So, instead, he had traveled to each Avatar Temple, swaying some of the Sages to join him, their once Fire Lord; he would then take his loyalists with him after slaughtering those who chose to rebel, leaving their bodies to rot, to send a message to his worthless son: the reign of Fire Lord Zuko would soon reach its twilight – the Phoenix would soon rise, and with his ascension to godhood, the world will become alight with fire.

"Ozai," Vaatu's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Prepare yourself, my friend, I can sense her; she is coming."

Looking up at the withering tree, Ozai smiled at the sight of something that had once been magnificent but was now dying - just like the Fire Nation under his worthless fucking son's rule.

Vaatu suddenly rushed into Ozai's body and he felt what true power really was once more. Did the Avatar always feel that invigorated? Did the boy realize how much more power he possessed, a power that was far more than anyone else's in either of the Realms?

He doubted it.

" _Our plans are coming together gloriously, my friend. Soon, you will be forged into my vessel, a vessel of supreme power."_ Vaatu's voice echoed in his mind and they disappeared in shadows, vanishing like smoke.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Toph Beifong was not happy, and no matter how she tried to change her feelings, the emotions of unhappiness remained. Samir was still just a child, now an airbending child and the girl kept pestering her to join her in the water, demanding that Toph play with her. For hours now, Aang and Lightning Psycho had been in the Spirit World, doing what she only had the vaguest idea of; all she knew was that it was something about the spirit who was plaguing Samir's dreams with darkness and rhymes. Toph didn't like to deal with the spirit mumbo jumbo as Sokka had so delicately put it.

"Toph, come  _on,_ please!" Samir's screechy voice grated in her ears once again, and it reminded her of Aang when she had first met him during the Great War, when she had first refused to teach him earthbending; now, her friend had become jaded at the edges, wary of others, and she couldn't really blame him for his mindset with the way his life had turned out.

"Why, kid? I don't want to go into the water. What can't you just accept that? I put my feet in earlier, wasn't that enough?" She hissed out, feeling the vibrations of her anger course through her.

"But, it's fun, Toph!" Samir stepped out of the pond and Toph's eyes widened in shock, in horror – and she wasn't too certain why she felt horror, but she did nonetheless.

"Why aren't you wearing any clothes?" She exclaimed in shock, "Don't try to deny it, Samir, I can't feel the vibrations of your clothes!"

"I didn't want to get them wet," the girl said innocently, standing before Toph as nude as the day when she had been born to the whore in Ba Sing Se. "What's the problem? Why are you mad? I don't understand."

Toph growled, "What's wrong with you? What would happen if Pathik walked out here? Put your clothes on!"

"Why?"

"Because it's improper!"

The girl huffed, "Fine, but I still don't understand. My masters never cared if I didn't wear clothes when I bathed."

"That's different!" Toph felt Samir slip the clothes on as more sluggish vibrations from her body registered with her feet.

Samir suddenly stepped closer and seemed to stare up at her, the vibrations a lot closer. "Are you afraid, Toph?"

She was eerily reminded of Aang when she had first met him, and at the thought of how far her friend had fallen from the boy who she had known, anger filled her. "No! I'm the greatest fucking Earthbender in the entire world! I'm not afraid of anything," she denied vehemently, ignoring the voices in the back of her mind that declared that she wasn't the greatest Earthbender in the world and that she was actually afraid.

"Is that true, Toph?" Pathik stepped out of the shadows, "Or is it a lie that you whisper to yourself for the sake of protection? Also, as I've told you, refrain from explicit words in front of a child."

That hit too close to her feelings and she whirled around to glare at him, not knowing what her face looked like. "What's it to you, old man?" She barked out, fists clenching, cracks appearing around her feet in the stone. "What I do is my business, not yours!" She felt Samir suddenly bolt out of the courtyard, probably to check on Aang and his insane girlfriend.

She felt the calm vibrations as Pathik raised an eyebrow. "Forgive me, Toph. I had meant no disrespect, but it is my business when those lies that you tell yourself could affect the future of our entire world." He said gravely, his vibrations indicating that he was looking down at her – and assessing her, too.

"What are you talking about?" She tried to stay calm, to keep more cracks from appearing, but her temper was close to exploding, and she dimly wondered if this was how Zuko had always felt.

" _Dark_  has risen from his imprisonment and he is acquiring power by the moment. This is a serious threat, Toph, more than you could even imagine."

She snorted, "I could take this fucking spirit, I don't care how grave a threat you think that he is."

"There are forces far more powerful than a Master Earthbender, Toph; it would benefit you if you remembered that." Pathik held up a hand to stop Toph from rebuking that statement, "Aang is more powerful than you, than anyone, and you know that, don't you? He is the Avatar, child, a being beyond comprehension; his reach is cosmic and within him, is the knowledge and power that has been lost in eons past. Think about the Avatar State, Toph, think on the truth. You know, deep inside, that if you were to battle him, even without him entering the Avatar State, you would never be successful."

Toph was unable to suppress her blatant, fearful flinch in spite of her best efforts. Whenever Aang transformed into that… that monstrous thing, it was the most terrifying nightmare imaginable. The first time when she experienced such fear was when she and the Gaang had been trapped in the Si Wong Desert, when they were confronted by the Sandbenders, the ones who she had discovered stole Appa.

She had and never would forget that ancient voice that boomed like thunder itself, the howling winds as a being with incomprehensible power unleashed thousands of years of rage, loss, and grief – and it had been just as terrifying when Aang had entered the Avatar State to criticize and silence Katara and Sokka when they had been in the Fire Nation. In the Si Wong Desert, she hadn't understood what was happening, why the air around her had become unbearably heavy, weighing her down with the weight of the heavens, why the murky and muddled vibrations through the sand had exploded with energy, why she had then been able to see clearer than any other time in the Si Wong Desert thanks to the divine vibrations scorching through the sand like sizzling fire, and why Katara and Sokka – and the thieving Sandbenders, too – had been filled with terror.

It hadn't been until Sokka finally grabbed a hold of her when she felt the fear of death, and it had only been then, in what she had thought to be her final living moment as the gales of screeching wind bore down on her, when she understood the might of the Avatar, her terrible folly in believing Aang to be weaker than her. Ever since when she had met him, she had mistaken him for her own weak flesh, but no matter the lifetime, Aang would never end; he would always exist. She had been a fool beyond fools; her feeble earthbending skills and strength were nothing when compared to all of the power of an Avatar. She had presumed limits to Aang's power, but she had then realized that there were none. The Avatar's life, no matter what name he or she took, spanned eons; legions had undoubtedly risen to test them, but all of the legions' strivings had been insignificant – and the legions' decimating deaths had most likely been the same.

Then, it had happened again in Ba Sing Se, and it was so much worse than the Si Wong Desert. In that accursed desert, no one had died, but in Ba Sing Se, many did; Aang had unleashed a vicious rampage, mercilessly slaughtering King Kuei and anyone who had stood in his way. She had physically felt the terror vibrating through everyone's body, their hearts almost bursting at the sight of the Avatar State. Then their hearts had stopped as she felt the air being kept from their lungs, depriving them of the much-needed oxygen. The Avatar State was beyond anything she had experienced, it was like a monster who rose from the Spirit World intent on plaguing her dreams for years, to scare her more than anything else in this world.

Pathik placed his hand on her shoulder, thankfully disrupting the memories of death. "It is okay to be scared, Toph. To be unafraid of anything shows that an individual has no common sense; only fools are unafraid of anything. Surely you know of the fears that have plagued Aang, right? To face Fire Lord Ozai before Sozin's Comet bathes the sky again, whether to kill him or spare him? If he was, indeed, the Last Airbender? Even the Avatar himself feels fear in spite of holding all of the power in the world."

Toph swallowed, trying to remain confident but she knew that she wouldn't be successful. "Yeah," she whispered, remembering the end of the Great War, on Ember Island, and how Aang had been stir-crazy, stress more prominent in his body's vibrations than his actual heartbeat. Her friend had only been twelve-years-old, her own age, yet he had had the fate of the entire world – of both Realms – bearing down on his shoulders with the weight of every nation.

"Have you ever heard of the term 'chakras', my dear?"

She looked up at the Guru, feeling one of her eyebrows automatically rise. "Yes, that's what you did with Aang and… Azula the past week, helping them find inner  _peace_  or some shit like that."

"One of the many chakras is the Sound Chakra. It deals with truth and is blocked by lies - specifically, the ones that we tell ourselves. I can help you gain clarity, but only if you let me, Toph"

Feeling the urge to finally release all of the built-up fear and lies in her mind, she nodded her head, speaking before she could think it through. "Very well, show me what you got, Guru Pathik."

The Guru smiled, "I am going to discuss what I believe is plaguing you and try to reveal some truths to you. Would that be okay?"

"Bring it," she smirked, trying to conceal her nervousness.

Pathik became serious and gazed down at her with what she suspected-to-be ancient eyes, "You grew up in the Beifong household, one of the richest Noble Clans of the Earth Kingdom. May I venture a guess?" Toph nodded slowly and the Guru's words were gentle. "During your childhood, before you had joined Aang at the twilight of the Great War, you had always had everything gifted to you on a silver platter and were treated like a delicate flower because of your disability, yes?"

Toph frowned, feeling trapped – just as she had in her childhood! "What does any of that have to do with me lying to myself, huh?"

She didn't feel Pathik didn't bat an eye. "You'll see, trust me," he said simply. "When you ran away from your family, hitching a ride with Aang and his friends to join the small band of heroes who would end the Great War, a whole new life had been presented to you, right? You were free from the oppression of your oppressive parents. Many things changed for you, but your attitude never did, did it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Your hubris had blinded you to doing what you should have; humility is something that you had never learned, and I do suspect that you have never truly shown thankfulness to anyone."

"I did, too! What the fuck do you know?" Toph cried out incredulously. "I thanked… um- …you know," she trailed off when she couldn't think of anyone who she had ever thanked during her life; while she had thanked people, mainly the Gaang, for watching her back when she was defenseless, that was superfluous, just like her parents!

Had she ever thanked Aang for choosing her to be his earthbending teacher when he could have chosen anyone? Had she thanked Katara for tolerating her rudeness and even mothering her when she had said that she hadn't needed it, but secretly did?

She swallowed as the truth blinded her: she has had a good life, but she had never shown her thankfulness to those who had helped forge her life into a good one.

"Now you understand," the Guru sat down in the Lotus Position and Toph unconsciously followed, mind still reeling and racing with thoughts. "Pride is a good thing, Toph, but so is humility. You see, if one has too much pride, they can never see things as they truly are. Having a perfect balance between the two emotions is the best and, in my opinion, the only way for anyone to have a clear mind. Now, what do you think this has to do with you?"

"I have an abundance of pride and not enough of humility," she guessed softly.

Pathik nodded, "Partially, yes. When you had first joined Aang, you hadn't done your part in creating a camp for everyone to feel safe and secure."

"How do you know that?"

"Aang shared it with me," she nodded in understanding as he continued. "You have spoken about pulling your weight in my presence, yet that is a lie that you tell yourself, isn't it?"

Toph looked down with sightless eyes at her hands resting in her lap, insight flooding her, comprehension finally clicking into place. "Yes, I had wanted to show everyone that I was able to take care of myself, but by doing that, I instead pushed everyone away, thus creating the lie, forging a wall between me and others."

Pathik smiled, "Yes, excellently done, Toph, you are very astute for one your age."

She smiled slightly, "When you've seen and heard what I have, you tend to pick up a few things, you know?"

"What do you think that you picked up?"

Toph frowned, "I learned how to work together with others and do my part, and I learned of the horrors of war, what it felt like to kill someone, to feel their hearts stop, to feel their… their warm blood staining my fingers."

Pathik smiled sadly, "You have all been through so much, too much, haven't you? Yet, your entire group suffers from the same symptom," he shook his head in sorrow. "When you had first joined Aang's group, you didn't do your part, and what is that called? Placing your own desires above anyone else's?"

"Pride?"

"No, selfishness, my dear," the Guru's vibrations indicated that he now stared upward at the sky, "To rely on one's self is not bad; in fact, it is quite essential in survival, but there can be consequences to your actions, though." He looked back down at Toph, "Do you understand? You became a burden to Aang's group when you had first joined because you refused to aid in the work that was designed for multiple people. Because of this, your group parted ways, and it should be apparent that you had all had a slim chance of ever reuniting. The world, the future had been put at stake because Aang needed a teacher and you hadn't been able to put aside your differences and help, refusing to work together. Thankfully, though, all of you did reunite…" Pathik chuckled in amusement, "If I'm not mistaken, it was because of Azula, wasn't it?"

Toph didn't answer, too busy thinking about what he had said. Had she been a burden to the Gaang at first? Yes, she had done nothing but whine about their situation and how the Gaang were all losers who had no idea what they were doing.

"Am I still a burden to my friends?" She refused to acknowledge the blush that colored her cheeks, but she needed to know.

"No, Toph, you're not."

Her eyes shut in relief, but she wanted more. "How?"

"You have matured, Toph, you have grown wiser than many of those who are thrice your own age." Pathik leaned forward and his heavy yet gentle hand grabbed her own. "I am not having this discussion, my dear, to point out any flaws that you might have; I am doing it so that you can understand that the world revolves around trust, okay? If you keep lying to yourself – and others, as well – then how much of a help would you be to your friends?" Pathik smiled and stood up, "You  _are_  a good person, Toph Beifong. Everyone stumbles and falls, you are not the only one. Contemplate the advice that I've given you, and you might just find that you'll feel better and more peaceful." Pathik exited the courtyard, humming an Air Nomad tune that Toph had heard Aang hum in the past.

She focused her feet on the ground, feeling the steady vibrations of the earth, of everything in her current area of the Air Temple. Staring upward with determination, Toph swore that she would be better, be a true adult. Before, she had been letting her oppressive parents win, but she refused to continue to let her childhood affect her actions and choices any longer. She was Toph, one of the greatest Earthbenders in the world, and she would triumph over the memories of her past; a new path had been opened to her and she gratefully began to walk it.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Every time when he journeyed into the Spirit World, it had always felt the same, the aching and missing part of him because his body had always been left in the Mortal Realm, but this time was different. Now, he had actually been able to bring his body with him into the Immortal Realm, feel the actual ground beneath his feet! Aang held out his hand and immediately, a beautiful fire formed in his palm, flickering in its liveliness. He then tapped his foot, and the earth responded, shaking from his command. He stretched out his power and the water flowed out of the numerous streams, swirling around his body in an immortal dance just as the Ocean and the Moon themselves did. Feeling peace, he became one with the air and levitated several feet above the ground, gentle breezes ruffling through his hair.

"I'm jealous, Avatar," Azula huffed as she stood next to him, gazing up at his floating form in amusement. "If only I had my fire," she lamented and then looked around at the new world that had been presented to her. "It's strange, I feel just as if I'm in my body, yet I also do feel different at the same time. Most peculiar," she looked unimpressed at Aang. "In spite of that, it doesn't look to be so fearsome; I had always imagined the Spirit World to be more… intense."

Aang looked at their surroundings, understanding what she meant: they were currently on top of a beautiful mountain with luscious trees staring up at them from the ground below, and light cast down on them from the sky, highlighting the ubiquitous beauty. "That's because it looks how I want it to be,"

Disbelief was etched on her face, "What? You can do that?"

"In the Spirit World, your emotions become reality. Because I'm the Avatar, my power greatly exceeds anyone else's. While I cannot simply change reality in the Mortal Realm, here, in the Immortal Realm, my will alone shapes everything if I let it. It's my inheritance as the Avatar."

Azula stared at him critically for several seconds, "Can I do this, then? Shape the reality of the Spirit World?"

"It's possible, but I suspect that it would be nowhere near my level of control," he then released his will of the world and the change was instantaneous and jarring: it swiftly descended to resemble a morose, shadowy realm, darkness ubiquitous where there had once been beauty. The trees were withered, the ground decayed, the sky itself was almost black with mortality, as if the blood of Death itself had stained it so, the once-clear water streams boiled in a disgusting brown color, and the air itself, which he could especially feel because he was an Airbender, became musty and thick, hard to breathe.

She gazed wide-eyed at the new surroundings, the real reality. "So, this is what the Spirit World really is. Indeed, it's most fearsome," she breathed out, immediately bringing a hand to her chest. "By Agni, it's hard to breathe."

Aang stared around sadly at the true environment. "Yes,  _Dark's_  awakening – or rather, his escape from the Tree of Time – has made it even worse," he looked at his companion. "You wanted to know if you could shape reality in the Spirit World, here's your chance to try it. Concentrate on what you want, and more specifically and importantly, what your emotions want."

"Very well," her beautiful golden eyes fluttered shut, and she breathed deeply, pulling her hands behind her back, concentration and focus engraved in every corner of her lovely features; he found himself unable to help but stare at her unabashedly. His mastered chakras had shown him the truth, and he hadn't been able to look away, even if he had wanted to: he loved Azula. Unfortunately, he had no idea what to do about it. He had many questions that needed answers, but if he was being honest, he was too scared to ask her those important and almost sacred questions.

When she opened her eyes, nothing had changed, and he frowned, having expected sunlight to pierce through the jaded darkness. "What happened? Did you lose concentration?"

"Oh, please, Aang, I don't lose concentration," she gazed up at him mischievously, golden eyes twinkling, a beacon to his eyes in the unholy darkness around them. "I was hungry, that's all."

"What? What are you talking about?" He asked incredulously, briefly having the thought that, maybe, he should have left her at the Eastern Air Temple to watch Samir.

She smirked and pulled her hands from behind her back, showing a roasted Komodo Chicken basket. She took a bite and smiled at him, "Would you like some?" She asked, eyes twinkling, knowing that he would refuse.

Aang laughed, the sound splitting through the air. "That was clever, well done, Azula," he closed his eyes and sought Koh's presence.  _There!_  He opened his eyes and stared north, "Let's go, he's close. It's time to confront the Liberator of  _Dark._ "

Shadows began to obscure their feet and Aang formed an air-scooter, hopping on top with Azula in his arms. The air circulated rapidly, swathing everywhere until all of the shadows dispersed, and then the path was finally clear once more. He rode forward and observed silently as they passed desolate surroundings and when he recognized them from his trip all of those years ago, he knew that they were close to Koh's lair. The closer they became, the more that a prickling feeling in his soul became apparent; Kuruk yearned to force an appearance out of Aang's body to avenge Ummi's death, but he easily pushed his former self down with minimum effort.

Azula suddenly tapped his shoulder and he looked up, recognizing the area immediately. An enormous, twisted tree sat above a deadly-looking cave, and the land surrounding the covert was barren, dark, and scarcely inhabited except for the Gargantuan Wolf Spirit that Aang remembered seeing the first time when he had journeyed here years ago under Roku's guidance.

They had arrived at Koh's dwelling.

"We're here," Azula said, looking at the large wolf in amazement.

Aang nodded his head slowly, "Yes, we are. Before we encounter him, tell me about all of the stories that you have heard of the Face Stealer?"

She eased herself out of his arms and pursed her lips, scrunching her eyebrows slightly. "They were tales that my mother told me as a child before bed; I heard that he is very powerful and that one must never show emotion in front of him or he will steal your face."

"Yes, so whatever you do, don't show emotion," he hissed out, feeling anxious all of a sudden. "I don't know what would happen if he tried to take your face." He did have a good idea, though: in his rage, he would slaughter Koh, and Kuruk would then appear to desecrate the carcass.

"I can do that, Aang, you should know that."

He didn't respond, instead stepping towards the covert, entering the shadowed darkness, preparing himself for a confrontation with the Saboteur of Peace. To ease his worry, he gripped Azula's hand and guided them into the lair. Inky shadows enveloped them, and he immediately summoned a small ball of fire, illuminating the cave, ignoring Azula's brief look of envy at his fire.

Harsh claw marks stained the stone and Aang took the time to realize how large Koh's lair actually was; when he had last been here, he had been too concerned with the Ocean and Moon Spirits to notice what he did now: a foyer of sorts greeted them and there, at the bottom of the seeming infinite well of stairs, was the shape of the Face Stealer.

The unholy echo of countless talons scraping against stone reverberated through his ears, and Azula's hand gripped his tightly.

"Well, well, if it isn't my old friend, the Avatar," a voice hissed and the chitinous shape turned around, facing them with the hauntingly familiar face of Ummi. A rage foreign to Aang, but all-too-familiar, rose within him, begging to be released, to avenge her! It took more effort than before to force Kuruk back down, but he succeeded. "How nice of you to finally visit me in my dwelling. It's about time, you know? I went to a lot of trouble to grab your attention, and yet, for all of my scheming, I hadn't foreseen you bringing a new friend to add to my… collection. She will be a delicious sacrifice to appease my frustration, I suppose. After all, it has been quite a while since we… talked, Avatar."

"Hello, Koh," he greeted, adjusting himself to a bending stance, preparing the physical confrontation that he had known would await them. "You say that you went to much trouble to grab my attention, but it displeases me that you would torment a young child who I have become fond of. I will ask you this one time, or the consequences will be dire for you, Koh: why did you free Vaatu from the Tree of Time?"

Ummi's face blinked, shock spreading over her lovely features before fury replaced them in a sweeping wave. "You fool!" Koh roared, the sound shaking the cavern but Aang remained unimpressed and waited for the treachery. "If I had wanted to free Vaatu, I would have done it several millennia ago! It wasn't my power that aided him in his escape, you foolish, young Avatar!"

Aang's eyes narrowed and he took a step forward to confront the lie, to force Koh to tell him the truth, but Azula placed her hand on his arm. "Why have you been tormenting Samir?" She asked calmly, no emotion displayed on her face and he hated the expression, causing his aggravation to grow even more.

Koh's face shifted, turning seamlessly into a fanged baboon. "Ahh, the mortal, she who dares converse with ancient powers she can't even imagine. Your face will be an appealing snack to cool my temper- "

"No, it won't be," he hissed, gray eyes almost becoming a blinding light. "She is under my protection and I swear on every fragment of energy in both of the Realms that I will destroy you if you harm her in any way."

The Face Stealer paused for a moment, seeming shocked, before whirling on Aang, the fanged baboon-face screeching and laughing. "Such promise, Avatar, isn't it the cycle? Kuruk once declared the same, yet I still took his precious Ummi from him. I could easily do the same to this mortal whom you so cherish."

Aang's face darkened, the shadows in the lair darting away from him, Kuruk's deep-seated rage almost his own. "You were only able to steal Ummi's face through trickery, sneaking into the Mortal Realm on the day of his wedding – when he was distracted. If he had been in his right mind and at the scene where you took Ummi's face on that day, you and I both know that he would have called lightning down from the heavens to smite you."

"And yet I still exist, Avatar, don't I?" Koh purred, his long body sweeping through the lair. "Kuruk didn't kill me, and he never has."

"He almost did on that day when you crossed back into the Spirit World, but he had arrived too late. He almost slew you, but you barely escaped – with his wife's face, too. Kuruk searched for over the next century, spending most of that time in the Spirit World, but because of how ancient you are, he could never find your lair," he replied, feeling the truth in the statement. "Otherwise, regardless of any consequences, he would have killed you – just as I will if you harm her."

"Very well, Avatar, I like the game that you now play." Koh laughed, the fanged baboon's fangs gleaming. "You're willing to do what you must, that's good, it will help."

"Help with what?"

"With Vaatu,"

"Then why have you been tormenting Samir? You didn't answer the question. She has nothing to do with Vaatu." Azula finally spoke, looking completely at ease with one of the most fearsome spirits in existence, one of the strongest in the Realm.

"She has nothing to do with Vaatu, but she was my way of grabbing the Avatar's attention."

"But why have you been tormenting- "

"I have not been tormenting that child!" Koh spat out, body blurring forward to gaze directly at Azula, staring into her golden eyes with unholy intent, and Aang tensed, waiting to smite him – and Kuruk waited, too. Koh only stared at her, though. "I have merely been warning her of what could come because the Avatar has been ignoring me!"

"What are you talking about, Koh?" Aang demanded in shock, "You've been plaguing Samir's mind for months!"

"Only so that I could speak with you, Avatar!" Koh's face abruptly became an old man's weary visage, long mustache billowing in an unseen wind, wrinkled countenance contorting in a flush of anger. "You have been blocking me! I have tried to contact you for several years, but nothing ever happened because your mind is impenetrable, even to one as strong as me. I've given you so many clues, Avatar: I gifted all of the Air Temples with new libraries and persuaded Wan Shi Tong to replicate all of the knowledge that he had of the Air Nomad culture and then I placed them into all of the Temples. Because of me _…_ " the spirit inhaled deeply, sounding more like a viper. "Only through me, does your culture still live. I left the scroll detailing the ability of true flight in the Southern Air Temple for you to find, another artifact of Wan Shi Tong's that he had procured from the air-walker, Laghima." The shadows swarmed, as if alive in response to Koh's mood, "When I realized that you would never grant me access, I took measures into my own hands. The girl was a means to an end, a ploy meant to lure you into the Spirit World so that I could finally converse with you! I knew that an innocent mortal, a child nonetheless, being tormented by who you wrongly assumed to be Vaatu would be the best way to do it."

"I had no idea that you were trying to contact me!" Aang cried out as more and more puzzle pieces fell into place as his mind was bombarded with all of the 'luck' that had seemed to find him after the Great War: all of the Air Temple's libraries being completely intact and looking completely original, the scroll of true flight not being left there by the Elders, but by Koh! He then remembered Samir's dreams. "Wait, why the rhymes? You don't speak in rhyme."

"I thought that you'd like that," the spirit seemed to chuckle. "I procured the idea from the Seer of Eternity, specifically his unique, or cursed, existence to only speak in rhymes."

Azula stepped closer, "Why do you want to speak with Aang, then?" Her face was finally free of the blankness, probably the realization that Koh wouldn't attempt to steal her face, and he felt incredibly relieved at the sight of her true face.

The centipede-like body coiled, "To warn him, of course _._ You all suffer from a false perception, one of many, I fear."

"What false perceptions? You said in the dream to Samir:  _'Lies seem true, but they cannot be. Know the truth, I must disclose to he. …Expose the truth and they will never again from memories fade, but if they are not known, the Realms will be wandered in eternal shade.'_  What don't we know?"

"Things…" the spirit turned around, talons scraping against stone. "They are not as they seem. Events have been hidden from you and falsehoods have risen in their place like towering mountains, obscuring the view of much-needed truth."

"How are things not as they seem?" Aang asked, "What do you mean?"

"The mortals' Great War was a facade," Koh said simply, the words floating in the lair. "The humans – and you both, too - believe that the catalyst of the Great War was when Sozin had wiped out the Air Nomads."

Aang nodded his head slowly. "Yes, that's true, or at least… we think that it is," he saw Azula nod her head, too, but from the tone of Koh's voice, the version of history that they both knew might not actually be the true and real history.

"Fire Lord Sozin had never been behind the mortals' Great War, Avatar." Koh's chitinous body slithered along the walls of the cave, voice and talons scraping reverberating everywhere _._  "Vaatu was the mastermind of the Great War and everything that has happened since – and many things before."

Silence.

"How is that possible?" Aang recovered from his astonishment and looked up in disbelief at Koh's form. "He was trapped in the Tree of Time!"

"Indeed, that is true, Avatar," Koh's talons rustled throughout the cave, "He had been trapped, yes, but an accomplice is always necessary to complete a great scheme – just as Wan Shi Tong was necessary for my scheme to contact you, Avatar."

"Who? Who dared help the embodiment of Chaos and Darkness? Tell me!"

Koh stopped, centipede-like body frozen in time, everything suddenly silent. "Vaatu was trapped in the Tree of Time, but his reach was still far. During the time when your former life, Avatar Roku was completing his training of mastering the elements, Vaatu somehow lured the Fire Spirit, Agni to his prison. My knowledge runs dry in how Agni then allied himself with Vaatu, but I believe that Vaatu had corrupted him, poisoning him with darkness." Koh paused and Aang's eyes closed as he digested everything. "Under Vaatu's guidance, Agni manipulated Fire Lord Sozin, poisoning him with darkened fire, controlling him into seeking a world of only Fire, of only Agni's own children."

Aang's voice was a whisper as he finished, the truth blinding. "All of the chaos, death, and misery of a Great War in the Mortal Realm would strengthen Vaatu, granting him enough power to break out of his prison. Agni must have then convinced Sozin to leave Roku to die on that volcano, and then convinced him to herald the… slaughter of the Air Nomads in the hopes that I – and thus, Raava – would be permanently destroyed forever, thus securing the path for Vaatu to reign." He didn't even try to keep the shock, disbelief, anguish, and dismay he felt from showing on his face - Koh wasn't going to steal it for the spirit didn't even have the power to take the Avatar's face. The entire Great War, the slaughter of his people, and everything that had happened was that of Vaatu. He could feel relief in his soul from Roku that Sozin wasn't the villain of the story, but it was wholly overshadowed by the realizations of Vaatu's scheming.

"Why are you telling us this?" Azula asked, apparently able to overcome the shock of the revelation Koh had shared faster than he himself.

The Face Stealer turned, facing them with the old man's weary countenance – and Aang wasn't too certain that the weariness solely belonged to the man; maybe some of it was actually Koh's. "Because I am in support of the idea of the Avatar, of balance."

"What?" He looked up, and suddenly, his form began to shake with effort; Kuruk furiously raged in his soul, seeking to escape and wreak havoc on Koh. All of the realizations about Vaatu had weakened his hold over his former life and because of his negligence, Kuruk had taken advantage, seizing his opportunity.

"You killed Ummi! You stole her from me!" It wasn't his own voice that had erupted from his lips for Avatar Kuruk appeared in a blinding tornado, taking his place, and Aang was sucked into his own soul.

XxXxXxXxXxX

A tall, strong Water Tribe man had appeared from the brilliant tornado where Aang had been, eyes alight with loathing, and Azula looked at the man in shock, taking a step back as a tiny seed of fear bloomed in her mind; without Aang, nobody could protect her from the Face Stealer. And what about this former Avatar? Would he direct his attention to Azula, or solely on Koh?

She watched apprehensively as the man stalked forward rapidly, gliding across the lair with rage, confidence, arrogance, and power. The old man's visage of the Face Stealer looked uncertain, traces of fear glowing in the old eyes, and Azula knew that this was Avatar Kuruk, the one who Aang had spoken to her about when they had questioned Avatar Kirku on Ember Island.

"I've finally found your lair after all of these centuries of waiting. At last, the time has arrived for me to unleash my vengeance on you. Give me back my wife, Face Stealer, and confront the Void of Eternity after I slay you." Avatar Kuruk whispered with such power that she knew that she stood no chance of ever fighting against this man – just as anyone could never hope to challenge a true Avatar.

Koh suddenly laughed, surprising Azula as the spirit's face shifted seamlessly back into who-she-now-knew-to-be Ummi's lovely countenance. "Well, well, well. It's been a long time, Kuruk. You must admit, lazy Balance-Keeper, that you did deserve it, you had it coming." The Face Stealer turned away just as Avatar Kuruk shot bright fire at the Face Stealer.

"I did not! You took her from me, the only person who mattered!" The former Avatar roared, his voice shaking the entire lair in a way that surpassed Koh's, tossing more fire at the elusive, slippery, chitinous-shaped creature.

"Really?" Koh's voice hissed, sounding like a viper ready to pounce, "You were arrogant, Kuruk, wholly undeserving of your power, of your position. You did not do your duty. You were too weak; your failure is deserved because you forsook your title. You were too selfish to do your job, siring mortal bastards everywhere!"

Avatar Kuruk roared, eyes alight with a manic glow, water appearing out of nowhere and dazzling through the air, slashing through pillars of rock, desperate to catch the Face Stealer.

Azula gripped the rocky platform when some of the waters lashed out near her, almost cleaving through her. "Hey, cut it out!"

Aang's former life turned to her, the streams of liquid circling around him in harmony, the deadly properties of water under his command, becoming piercing ice. "What did you say? Who are you?" He snarled, drawing himself up, looking as arrogant as any Firebender who had ever been born.

Fear spasmed through her mind as she stared into the eyes of a man who she had heard legends of, a man who had lived over half a millennium and whom commanded fearsome power but drawing on her own well of calm and strength, Azula refused to be intimidated. "I'm Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, someone who is very dear to Avatar Aang. To answer your first question: you heard me. Usually, I would be a major fan of watching you and the Face Stealer battle to the death, but time is of the essence. Aang and I have questions that Koh must answer," her golden eyes widened slowly as Avatar Kuruk's hand opened slightly and a massive fireball was summoned into his hand. Swallowing back her fear, she took a step back, prepared to flee. "Get out of here, Avatar Kuruk, your presence is not needed!" The massive fireball blazed towards her and she narrowly dodged out of the way, rolling to the side as another jet of fire flashed in the corner of her vision, and she wished that she had her firebending. Azula jumped to her feet and tried to avoid the gust of wind that Avatar Kuruk had thrown at her, but she smashed into the wall of the lair heavily, the air leaving her lungs in a painful rush; she dimly wondered how the gust of air had even hit her because she was an actual spirit right now, but she knew that it must have been because Avatar Kuruk was an Avatar. In fact, everything felt incredibly real even though she wasn't in her actual body.

Avatar Kuruk loomed over her, eyes cold, and another fireball formed in his hand. "Your death is only of the natural order; you challenged me, and for that challenge, your spirit will be destroyed."

"Careful, Kuruk," Koh suddenly purred, and she was eternally grateful to the Face Stealer as his talons scraped against the stone once more, his chitinous body appearing behind Avatar Kuruk. "Your current incarnation will not take kindly to you attempting to harm her. In fact, I would wager that he will soon reappear, and your spirit will be forever condemned to never appear to any Avatar again. His power is far beyond yours – and any other Avatar, too!"

The Water Tribe man froze, face contorting in panic, blue eyes bulging from his sockets. "Stop! No, please! Surely, you understand! I must avenge- " he was cut off when he suddenly screamed in pain, eyes that were once filled with terrifying power bulging from their sockets in fear and anger. A tornado then formed around him, blazing with power, illuminating the cave.

After a moment, Aang appeared, looking livid, the sight an incredible relief to Azula. "He will not be making another appearance," he growled, eyes assessing her with concern as he pulled her to her feet, his hands feeling real within her own even though she was still a spirit. "Are you okay?"

She waved him off as she slowly gathered her wits. "I'm fine, but he definitely seemed more powerful than the legends say."

Aang turned back to Koh after several seconds of staring at her. "Why are you in support of the Avatar, Koh? You took Kuruk's wife, Ummi from him. Why?"

"I took Ummi to teach Kuruk a lesson," the Face Stealer changed his mask back to the fanged baboon as he looked at them. "He was lax in his duties, more than the mortals have record of. He believed people should solve their own problems, but he had never made certain that the mortals actually were solving their own problems. He failed in his duty as Avatar, the greatest failure to exist, such a terrible Balance-Keeper; he didn't take his position seriously as he should have. Instead, he was too busy bedding hundreds of humans, polluting his seed throughout the world; he had many bastard children. When he had met Ummi, he became even worse. So, on the day of their wedding, I entered the Mortal Realm and took her, adding her face to my collection." His face shifted into Ummi's once more and Azula admitted that the woman's face was lovely.

Aang nodded without batting an eye. "Okay, so you did it hoping that Kuruk would learn to take his duty seriously, but he never did because he was consumed with vengeance towards you. He wasted the remainder of life, which was definitely over a century, hunting you down, trying to find your lair." She noticed that his eyebrows furrowed, "How did he never find it, though? Roku knew the way because he guided me when I needed knowledge about the Ocean and Moon Spirits."

Azula hadn't known that but was unable to say anything because Koh spoke. "I suspect that Roku knew of my lair because, whilst you had remained frozen in the Iceberg, Roku had wandered the Spirit World for the entire century until your awakening and – every spirit of every Avatar had been stuck in the Spirit World during your century's sleep – he had eventually stumbled upon my lair by accident. Thankfully, he had never shared its location with Kuruk. Otherwise, I would be destroyed just as Tui was by that mortal."

"Why are you an ally of the Avatar, then?"

"I am balance," the spirit said vaguely. "I was always in support of Wan's ascension to Avatar."

"Why?" Azula stepped forward, "You haven't answered the question."

Koh chuckled, the sound piercing through the relative darkness of the lair. "I must admit that I like you, Azula. You have shown remarkable strength thus far, especially in the face of Kuruk's wrath; it's very rare to find in mortals. They are often too petty, arrogant, and delusional about their own worth."

"I'm a prodigy," she said simply, proudly, pleased in spite of herself that a spirit as powerful as the Face Stealer recognized her great traits.

The Face Stealer's talons stopped scraping against the stone as he shifted back into the old man. "You have spunk, child, a good thing for one who is dear to the Avatar. You both know of the Lion Turtle's being created by Raava and Vaatu, yes?" Azula and Aang both nodded, and she noticed that Aang looked bemused. "The Lion Turtles were created with simple energy, and then Raava and Vaatu shaped the Elemental Spirits after, whereas I was born from the union of Light and Darkness, of Raava and Vaatu."

Azula saw Aang's eyes suddenly light up as he entered the Avatar State.  **"You're** **my** **child,"**  his voice, instead of being the booming thunder of lifetimes past, was feminine, and his body took on an ethereal glow.

"It's good to see you again, mother." Koh slithered forward, the old man's visage unreadable save for something that looked like pleasure. "It's been far too long since we've spoken – eons, I believe."

 **"It has, my son,"**  Raava said through Aang, and it was beyond disconcerting to Azula.

"You must visit me again soon…" Koh bumped his head gently against Aang's chest – or maybe it was Raava's chest.

Aang smiled and the ethereal light swiftly faded. "So, you are literally neutral," he breathed out, recovering remarkably quickly from his body being inhabited.

"Yes, Light plus Dark equals Gray, neutrality." Koh slithered around the cave once more, talons rattling against the rock.

"What is Vaatu's plan?" Azula asked, wondering if the Face Stealer actually knew.

"My father seeks to do as my mother did: become an Avatar of supreme power." Koh appeared behind them, "He broke free from his prison in the Tree of Time and took Fire Lord Ozai out of his own. Your father, Azula, will become Vaatu's personal vessel to be the Avatar; first, though, he seeks to gain control of all of the elements and create his own cycle."

Aang furrowed his brow, "How would he gain the other elements, though? Plus, I took Ozai's inner flame away, cleansing it from his chi with energybending."

"You did take his firebending away, Avatar, but there are always ways to regain what was lost. I told you of Agni's alliance with Vaatu, so what do you- "

"Agni gave my father his firebending back," she breathed out, finishing for Koh, her mind reeling from the discovery.

"Yes, child, only my siblings, the Lion Turtles and the Elemental Spirits, or the Avatar can gift people elements." Koh paused, his talons scraping unevenly behind them. "Actually, any Energybender can as well, but it is very difficult for a human to ever acquire the ability – plus, they could only gift the element that they themselves bend; only an earthbending Energybender could gift earthbending and so on. My father is currently searching for the other great Spiritual Elements because he cannot find the Lion Turtles." The shadows moved forward like waves in the ocean. "He will coerce them to gift him great power over their elements."

Aang groaned aloud, and she had the urge to comfort him. "Things just got so much more complicated. Why didn't you tell me years ago?"

"You were not ready; you needed to focus on Fire Lord Ozai. If I had told you, you would have inevitably opened the Spirit Portals, become corrupted by Vaatu, and then taken over by my father, poisoned by his darkness because you had not reconnected with Raava."

She watched him accept the reasoning and he slowly ran a hand through his hair, looking overwhelmed. "How do we stop him, then? And what about Agni? How do we un-poison him?"

Koh leaned forward, the mustache of the old man somehow curling into Azula's own hair in spite of her spirit-body. "You must first understand the differences between my mother and father."

"One's Light and the other is Dark. What else is there?" Aang asked aggressively, clearly angry over the situation.

"Vaatu is Raava's opposite in every way, Avatar. My mother is calm, where my father is furious. They are life and death, yin and yang, female and male, good and evil, day and night, love and hate, Light and Dark."

"So, by knowing that, I will be able to defeat Vaatu?" Aang hesitantly asked.

Koh chuckled, "Vaatu lived ten-thousand lifetimes before the first of the humans crawled out of the mud after I gifted them with faces. It was he who broke through the divide that separated the Plane of Spirits from the Material World. He is ancient, powerful, cunning, and worst of all, evil. He is willing to do things that others, myself included, would not. You may believe my act of, in your words, tormenting that child despicable, but Vaatu would have done things in far more vile ways if he had been in my position."

Azula cut in, "Why did Vaatu choose my father? He could have chosen any other?"

Koh laughed, the sound reverberating off the walls. "Ozai was the perfect candidate! Nobody hates the Avatar as much as my father, but Ozai's loathing of the Avatar was impressive enough to catch Vaatu's eye."

"Why did you say 'candidate', Koh?" Aang asked warily.

"You have mastered your true power by unlocking your chakras; Ozai will need to do that, as well, if he is to be Vaatu's vessel. Since my father is the opposite of Raava, Ozai's ascension will be different."

Azula frowned, "How so? Wouldn't he just be mastering his chakras and finding clarity?"

Koh seemed displeased by her questions. "No, he will be doing the opposite. When he masters his chakras, it will be centered around a different philosophy."

"What do you mean? What would be different?" Aang questioned while Azula tried to think of philosophies that would master chakras, but only the one that Pathik had used was possible, at least as far as she knew.

"If he is to master his Earth Chakra, Ozai must not fear to be alone because it is his destiny as the Dark Avatar to be alone."

Aang took over, eyes alight with understanding, "So, if he is to master his Water Chakra, Ozai would need to take pleasure in the pain and suffering that he inflicts on others without feeling any guilt."

She growled, memories flashing through her mind, the way her father's eyes would be alighted with malice. "He's already mastered that one, methinks," she had already triumphed over the abuse, but it was still extremely uncomfortable to remember.

Aang grabbed a hold of her hand, letting her know that he understood. "To master his Fire Chakra, Ozai must learn to feel unashamed for becoming the embodiment of Darkness and Chaos, and then embrace it as his destiny." Based on what she was hearing, she estimated that her father had probably already mastered these chakras already. "Then, to master his Air Chakra, he must release any grief that he would feel when inflicting pain and suffering on others; he would also need to learn to love to bring pain to others."

Azula snorted because her father was already sadistic, but she continued on, finally understanding what Koh and Aang had. "For his Sound Chakra, he must convince everyone who he encounters is that nothing is connected and that only the Avatar and the spirits have an afterlife in the Gardens of the Dead; while he already tells lies, he must make those who know the truth insignificant compared to the number of people who believe his lies. If he is to master his Light Chakra – or Dark Chakra, for my father – he must understand that separation needs to remain the biggest illusion for everyone, otherwise, his mastery will never happen. For his Thought Chakra, Ozai must disconnect himself from what binds him most to the world and remove them, probably by killing them himself. Only then, could my father connect completely to Vaatu's vast pool of power just as Aang did with Raava."

"Impressive," Koh purred. "You are quite clever for a mortal, Azula, maybe there is hope for your kind after all."

She smirked, "With me around, the mortals will always have hope to survive."

"Thank you, Koh," Aang suddenly bowed, ignoring her quip. "You have provided an abundance of knowledge that I had, indeed, needed. You have been a true friend on this day."

"Yes, but don't ignore me next time, Avatar. If that happens, I would be forced to manipulate that child again, or another defenseless mortal, and I know that you wouldn't want that, now would you? Now, get out of my lair, our time together has been fully spent; the stench of a mortal is overwhelming," the Face Stealer growled out, talons scraping against stone, creating sparks.

Aang nodded his head respectfully. "Understood," he gripped Azula's hand and guided them out of the cave, and she didn't say anything until they exited the Face Stealer's dwelling.

"That's a lot to process," she breathed out when she saw the huge Wolf Spirit once again. "I never would have imagined that Vaatu was behind the Great War." Growing up, all that she had heard was how glorious the conquests of Sozin were, how he had been spreading the honor of the Fire Nation across the world; she had long since come to terms that her great-grandfather was an evil monster, but now, she realized that Sozin had been a victim as much as everyone else was.

He squeezed her hand, and she glimpsed his head shake, dark hair falling on his face for a moment. "I know, right? It's… inconceivable, beyond most people's comprehension. He thought everything out, didn't he? He had been planning this for centuries, maybe even thousands of years. Everything that has happened, he had designed it to happen."

Azula nodded in agreement because it truly was unbelievable; the more she learned, the more she realized how much of a devious being Vaatu was, effortlessly manipulating the entire Mortal Realm into a Great War that decimated the Four Nations for a century while no one had an idea that it was he who had sparked it; they only believed Sozin to be the Saboteur of Peace.

Levitating several feet in the air, Aang froze. Noticing, his expression, Azula opened her mouth when she felt the ground shake innocuously. "What's happening? What is it?"

"Vaatu," he breathed out, staring farther than she could with unseeing eyes. "He came to the Spirit World."

"Why? What is he doing here?"

Aang blinked before looking at her with urgency. "He's fighting the Earth Spirit," he said stunned. "Come on! We must stop him! This might be our best chance!"

Azula nodded before swiftly hopping onto Aang's back. "Let's do it. Just fly us there; it will be faster," she was impressed that he hadn't dropped her. He easily held her up and Azula was once more reminded of the muscles that were hidden beneath his garbs. Slowly, feeling impish, she leaned closer, and her breasts pressed softly against his back in what she hoped was an enticing manner. "Let's go, Aang," she whispered.

She felt and heard him swallow, "All rig- all right… be ready, okay?" Azula felt pleased to see that her body had an effect on the usual calm Airbender. Then Aang took off, streaking through the sky of the Spirit World.

XxXxXxXxXxX

As he journeyed faster towards where Vaatu was, the shaking of the ground became more pronounced; trees had been ripped out by the roots, and the terrain beneath him had become inhospitable. Worst of all, Aang could see bright flashes of fire ahead, and the realization was profound. Vaatu had brought Agni with him to battle Devi. Was Ozai with them? If so, how could he protect Azula when she didn't even have her bending?

"How am I supposed to help you fight?" Azula suddenly called out, raising her voice so that he could hear her. "I don't have my bending!"

Thinking for a moment, he then answered while keeping his eyes ahead. "You will be able to use lightning."

"What? How?"

Aang sighed, but it was unheard. "When a Firebender bends lightning, they are able to do so from the union of combining one's inner flame with their own spiritual energy. When one bend's lightning it becomes less of fire and more raw spiritual energy. In the Spirit World, you will be able to use lightning, but without any fire; it will be spiritual in nature and can deal a lot of damage if dealt properly."

"So, is it like energybending, then?"

He smiled, "Yes, exactly. You'll be fine, but just to warn you, I suspect that your father has journeyed into the Spirit World – how, I cannot say – with Vaatu. He shouldn't be able to bend in the Spirit World, but from those flashes of fire up ahead, if they're not Agni's, I don't know…" he flew faster, cutting through the air like a vengeful arrow until he landed.

Azula hopped off his back, landing on the desecrated ground. "How do you want to play this, then?"

"I don't know," he squinted, trying to decipher how far ahead Vaatu was. "He's not expecting us, so we have surprise on our side." Now that he was thinking about it, he and Azula could probably just ambush Vaatu, Agni, and Ozai, if the man was in the Spirit World; if he and Azula joined forces with the Earth Spirit, it wouldn't be too implausible to put Ozai, if he was in the Spirit World, and Vaatu back into both of their respective prisons. Then, without Vaatu, Aang could hopefully heal Agni, un-poisoning the Fire Spirit from the malevolent darkness.

She smirked at him, golden eyes gleaming, promising a worthy ally. "We'll ambush them together, then," she concluded and then darted forward, sneaking soundlessly across the ruined terrain, gliding like an Airbender.

Aang followed behind her, anxious to face Vaatu after thousands of years, and a calm descended over him when he felt Raava in his soul, her presence a fierce reassurance. He could see the remnants of a battlefield, fires raging across the soil, turning it a death-colored black; parts of the ground seemed to be incinerated as if a powerful laser or beam had blazed through it, carving unidentifiable symbols into the ground.

"Look!" Azula hissed out, suddenly freezing in place. "That must be the Earth Spirit!" Azula pointed ahead and Aang knew that she was right when his eyes glimpsed the scene: a beaten-looking woman literally composed of stone, dirt, and who had hair made of grass cascading down her back was desperately trying to escape from a two-headed man composed of pure fire - Agni! – and a man whom he recognized as Ozai.

"Devi," he whispered in horror, watching as Vaatu lashed out with tentacles of darkness, slashing at the earth-made body, causing rocks and stones to explode into pieces. Devi tried to defend herself from Vaatu, but Ozai and Agni's combined fire slammed into her side, blackening her side horribly, charring and splintering most of her body.

Vaatu's voice was thunderous, "You have brought this on yourself, Devi," his claws of darkness ravaged her broken chest and entered her, causing shadows to creep and seep through her entire body, and the Earth Spirit screamed in pain and stumbled, but not before a massive beam of energy slammed into her chest, releasing another roar of agony as she fell, her body broken and almost destroyed, darkness ravaging her almost-corpse.

Aang had seen enough. "Come on," he whispered, creating a massive gust of wind as he jumped upward, glaring down at the sight. "VAATU!" He roared, "Leave her alone; she's not who you want!" He flew for several hundred feet before landing protectively in front of the fallen, darkness-touched Earth Spirit.

"Well, if it isn't the Avatar _…_ " Vaatu hissed out, looming tall, and ancient lines of energy coiled through the spirit's form as he floated closer to Aang. "It took you long enough; I was beginning to think that you would never show up. You look the same as our first meeting."

Aang didn't understand what Vaatu meant, "What are you talking about?"

"Wan Shi Tong is revered for his knowledge; it is comparable to power itself, so I will follow after my kin. That knowledge is mine alone."

Before he could respond, Azula arrived and he watched warily as Ozai turned to his daughter in shock, "Azula?" He whispered.

"Hello, father," she said coolly, siding next to Aang. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

The shock slowly left the former Phoenix King's face, replaced by overwhelming and twisted fury. "You betray me? For him?" He snarled out, magnificent fire erupting from his lips.

Agni's two heads were riveted on them, "That is most disappointing. You had always shown such promise, Azula, daughter of my Fire."

She ignored Agni's words, staring at Ozai instead. "Yes, father, and you will be back under Zuzu's thumb soon enough. Haven't you missed your home?" Azula smirked calmly, looking completely at ease in the face of her abusive father and Aang felt proud of her.

"You are a fucking WHORE!" Ozai screamed, lightning sparking between his fingers before one of Vaatu's tentacles of darkness snuffed it out.

"Wait, Ozai, just a moment," the dark spirit growled out, his booming voice curious. "How are you alive, Avatar? You never answered me."

Aang frowned, wondering if this was a trap designed to let his guard down, especially when Agni shifted his stance slightly. "What?" He glanced at Ozai in disgust, the man's golden eyes sparkling with malignancy, glaring at him hatefully. "I didn't like what you called Azula," he said to the vile Firebender. "Whatever permission you had as a father has been revoked; she is no longer yours."

"So, she's yours, is she?" Ozai spat out, the back of his throat glowing an ominous orange and deep red color. "That figures, she was always eager to please, willing to do whatever was necessary. Now she pleases you, doesn't she, Avatar?" Aang's eyes narrowed into slits at the suggestion, but Ozai continued. "She is nothing but a whore, a leg-spreader who was never anything but a failure!"

"A disappointment whose existence must be fixed," the Fire Spirit intoned, his two heads staring at Azula in what Aang discerned as displeasure.

Azula's fists clenched by her side and she stood to her full height, drawing herself up. "In your eyes, maybe I am, but in my own, I am none of those things; I am no failure, father. I am stronger than you'll ever be. My destiny is my own, and you never had the right to control me. It's too bad, you know?" A devious smirk crossed her lips and Ozai snarled at the sight, while Aang tensed, waiting for an attack. "History will remember me in a redeeming light, but you will forever be remembered as a monster, a collector of ashes, bones, and blood."

Ozai's eyes glowed, "To think that I was once proud of you. I see my mistakes now, and it was in allowing you to live! Your own brother, for all of his weakness, is more like me than you are- "

She laughed, "Do you think that upsets me? I want nothing to do with you! Yes, I am nothing like you, and it's a relief!"

The former Phoenix King gnashed his teeth together. "And it will be a relief to me to watch the life leave your- "

"How did you survive the Air Nomads' Genocide, Avatar?" Vaatu interrupted with a surprising amount of patience. "I waited for years, decades even, to feel Raava destroyed, but I never did. How did you survive?"

Aang kept his eyes on Agni and Ozai, watching as their dark gazes were still narrowed at Azula in disgusted contempt. "I was stuck in an iceberg for a century, hidden in La's oceans."

Vaatu growled out, "Lucky child! For years, I had thought that you had somehow died by mortal means and, thus, been reincarnated into the Water Tribes."

"That's why I had tasked Azulon to kill the last Southern Waterbender," the Fire Spirit said, one head staring at Aang, the other staring at Azula. "Vaatu and I had both figured, who else could it have been beside the Avatar?"

Aang's eyes widened in realization. "That makes sense, then," he had always wondered why the Fire Nation had been interested in one single Waterbender. Katara could have never become a threat; she was the last of the Southern Waterbenders, and she had no Masters to teach her whatsoever. Her existence was less than nothing compared to the might of the Fire Nation and Fire Lord Azulon shouldn't have cared. But if Vaatu and Agni had suspected that Aang himself had died, thinking that the Avatar had been reincarnated once more, then the Fire Nation hearing whispers of a Waterbender born in the South, and their reaction toward such news made perfect sense; the odds had been that it was the Avatar finally reappearing.

"Now, I will finish what Sozin failed to do over a century ago! I have broken free from my prison, and the scores of mortals dead have nourished me; I have returned, and I bring death with me!" Vaatu arched back, glowing purple, and a huge blast of spiritual energy erupted from his chest, slamming into the spot where Azula and Aang were _._

At the last second, Aang summoned a gust of wind, pushing Azula – and he was incredibly thankful that even though she was in spirit form, she could still be tangible to the elements and spiritual energy – out of the range of the blast, holding his hands above his head, repelling Vaatu's attack. Ozai then immediately attempted to shoot lightning into his daughter, but Aang, using his other hand, summoned a vortex of skin-cutting air, shoving it at Ozai, who then went flying back, safely away from Azula.

Devi suddenly screeched in rage and Aang felt trepidation at the insane look on the Earth Spirit's face as she climbed out of the crater, looking completely healed. "You, Agni! Your people have slaughtered my own!"

Azula, without hesitation, flexed her fingers and then in a blast of light, white lightning was unleashed from her fingertips in powerful, sparkling streams directly into the Fire Spirit, but Agni batted it aside with a smack of his flaming hand. "Foolish child, I will now take your pride." Aang understanding what he meant, so with one hand still repelling Vaatu's energy beam, he blasted the Dark Spirit with stones of earth, whipped water at him, shot blasts of monstrous fire, and then slammed the force of air with his other hand into Vaatu's now-flailing form. The energy beam vanished and Aang then leaped past Devi's stalking form towards the Fire Spirit just before he snatched Azula, who quickly rolled behind Aang, blasting him with sudden gusts of frigid air; he refused to allow the Fire Spirit to take away Azula's firebending.

Agni screamed in pain as his flames sporadically shifted and wavered, and Aang understood: without air, fire could not exist, but if there was too much air, the fire became uncontrollable. Agni was literally composed of fire, and Aang's blast of air had threatened to overwhelm him.

"Agni!" The Earth Spirit then slammed stones into the Fire Spirit's pained form, hurling him several hundred feet, and before Aang could stop her, trying to keep Vaatu's darkness from overtaking her, she leaped after Agni, screeching with grief and mourning and darkness.

Aang turned around to deal with Vaatu, expecting the spirit to immediately attack him, but dread swept through him. He had miscalculated, spending too much time focusing on Agni and Devi. He had forgotten about the most dangerous spirit in the area, and the sight that assaulted his eyes reminded him of his error.

Vaatu held Azula in front of him as a hostage, shadows curled around her throat. "Careful, Avatar, if you take another step, I will kill your little girlfriend- "

"His little whore!" Ozai growled out the correction, appearing behind Aang to kick the back of his legs brutally, forcing him to kneel before Vaatu.

Aang clenched his jaw, worried not for himself, but for Azula. "If you hurt her, I will kill you." The Avatar State was right there, waiting to be used, to revel in its power and cosmic and divine brilliance, but he didn't want to unleash it in his anger; the slaughter at Ba Sing Se was still a stark reminder of what happened when he was in a furious rage.

Vaatu chuckled, "I will not hurt her as long as you do not interfere." The Dark Spirit loomed over Azula like death itself.

He swallowed, "I understand." Azula stared at him, eyes telling him to attack, but he couldn't. He could not risk losing her, he couldn't!

"When I'm through with you, boy, you'll wish that my grandfather had killed you over a century ago," Ozai vowed, growling in his ear while holding a fire dagger against his throat, sizzling against his skin, and Aang narrowly avoided crying out in pain.

"The Void of Eternity will welcome you in its cold embrace; not even your Flame is warm enough to exist there!" Devi's insane and darkness-touched voice echoed as she carried Agni's broken form in her arms, looking vengeful as anyone who Aang had ever seen. Agni was then brutally slammed into the ground by Devi before Vaatu, "Kill him, father. I don't have the power to kill my sibling, but you do, Spirit of Chaos and Darkness!"

Aang's eyes widened in dread as Vaatu seemed to purr. "Devi, come closer, it had pained me to attack you earlier, but it was needed; it was the only way for you to gain the strength to defeat Agni and have your rightful vengeance."

"Stop!" He cried out but thrashed against the ground as Ozai dug the fire dagger into his neck further, his skin melting and burning, and he barely kept his scream of pain from escaping his lips.

"I will destroy him for you, Devi," Vaatu began, "but I will only do so in exchange for power over the Earth."

Azula's golden eyes widened in understanding and horror. "Aang, don't let him- " she cried out before one of Vaatu's tendrils covered her mouth.

He lurched forward and summoned a gust of wind that slammed into Ozai, sending him flying back as he jumped to his feet. "Let her go!" When Azula started choking, he stopped in his tracks, panic-stricken.

"Careful, Avatar, if you truly care for this waste of mortal flesh, you will not interfere." Vaatu hissed out dangerously, the area around them becoming colder.

"You will help me destroy Fire if I gift you with power of the Earth?" Devi looked skeptical for a moment, no doubt remembering the battle when she had been egregiously beaten, almost destroyed before Aang and Azula rescued her; quickly, though, the skepticism fled her features, replaced by the darkness of Vaatu, the rage carved into her earth-flesh.

The former Phoenix King smashed his flaming fist into Aang's ribs, and he choked on a soundless scream as he fell back to his knees, several of his ribs breaking harshly. "Yes," Ozai roared. "Fire has wronged me, Earth Spirit! I want them to be destroyed – and I attacked you so that you would realize it!" Ozai spoke with such honesty that even Aang almost believed him from his kneeling and pained position.

Almost.

Azula frantically shook her head, trying to escape from Vaatu's clutches for she knew better than anyone how much her father was lying through his teeth, but it was hopeless; Vaatu was far stronger than she could ever be, and he easily kept her subdued, unable to speak, to break the hold of Vaatu's darkness from poisoning Devi into his servant.

The Earth Spirit's dirt-colored eyes were wide with derangement as she stepped closer, and her palm was placed on Vaatu's floating form, ignoring Azula beneath her. "I give Vaatu, Spirit of Chaos and Darkness, and my father, power over my element, the Earth." The moment the words left her mouth, brilliant green energy flowed into the Dark Spirit, spiraling over his form.

Vaatu then let go of Azula as he hummed in ecstasy, and seeing his chance, Aang ignored his injuries as best as he could by smashing his elbow into Ozai's side, reaching back to wrap his hand around the man's neck, and then he yanked him over his shoulder, slamming Ozai into the ground. Without wasting any more precious time, Aang leaped towards Azula and looked at her in concern.

She was staring at Devi in horror. "He's corrupted her," she breathed out, and Aang looked over after assessing her spirit-body; the Earth Spirit's eyes were now glowing purple, just as Agni's were, and when the Fire Spirit stood to his feet, Devi didn't react at all, standing next to him like a loyal comrade.

Vaatu rushed forward, merging with Ozai's form.  **"Thank you for your cooperation, Avatar!"**  The voice was a combined tenor of Vaatu's and Ozai's, sneering at him in hatred.

Aang looked at the situation; it was not good. Vaatu had merged with Ozai temporarily and could now bend both Earth and Fire, the Spirits of Fire and Earth had been corrupted by their father and were now aligned with Vaatu, furthering his superiority, Azula could only bend spiritual lightning, and Vaatu had already established that he would use her to get to him.

"You must leave!" He hissed to Azula, "Return to your body, and warn the others!"

Azula glared at him, "Don't be ridiculous, Aang, I can- "

Before she could finish, Ozai, Devi, and Agni all abruptly swarmed forward, and in a blurred motion, Aang placed his thumbs on Azula's forehead and chest, forcing her spirit back to her physical body in the Mortal Realm. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her after she vanished, and he felt relief that she was safe – it was all that mattered!

He whirled back around and grunted as bullets of hardened stone slammed into his chest with enough force to bring him to his knees. He then rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding Agni's torrential blast of flesh and bone-melting fire. Then he rose into the air, lightning crackling across his fingertips, and he was so thankful that Azula had taught him lightning bending when they had been at Ember Island together. Glaring down at Devi as she screeched like a wounded beast, a pillar of earth shooting her into the air, he slammed his hands together and watched unblinkingly as his unleashed attack burst into Devi's chest.

The Earth Spirit screamed in agony, falling to the ground; he hadn't killed her in spite of the blistering hole through her body. Stones and dirt had exploded off of her earth-composed body, and she laid there, healing slowly.

The merged form of Vaatu and Ozai – and Agni, too – all flew up to meet him, jets of flames propelling them upward, malignant snarls on their three heads. Thinking fast, remembering what had happened earlier with Agni in regard to his airbending, and knowing that Ozai and Vaatu had no knowledge of earthbending, Aang slashed his arm in a diagonal arc and brought his other arm down vertically, and then he roared through his lips, a vortex of terrible wind exploding down on them.

The two bodies were slammed harshly into the earth-shaken and crater-filled ground, crashing into a pile of limbs.

"You know, deep inside, that you cannot succeed, Vaatu, Ozai, Devi, and Agni." Aang said almost sadly, "It's pointless to resist. Give up!"

Ozai and Vaatu's briefly merged body glared up at him.  **"We'll meet again soon, Avatar. What you haven't repaid with your cooperation on this day, we will eventually exact from your own flesh!"**  He hissed out, his body wavering from the strain of Vaatu's joining in his body, and then shadows engulfed around him, Agni, and Devi.

Aang's eyes widened when he realized what was about to happen, "No!" He cried out but it was too late; the three of them vanished, and he was alone, barren wasteland encompassing him. The echo of failure drowned through him and in his anger, his eyes glowed blinding white, power pulsing from his very form,  **"ARGHH!"** The Avatar State flooded him and all of his injuries instantly healed as he roared, as the anger of a thousand lifetimes was unleashed: the ground shook, mountains in the distance crumbled, fire far greater than what Sozin's Comet could produce spewed from his mouth, massive, vacuum-creating tornadoes swarmed the area, and the boiling waters rose into the air, typhoons forming in their wake.

He eventually calmed down and stared at the morose surroundings; it looked like death itself had molested the land, destroying everything in its path until nothing remained except chaos and misery and entropy. He closed his eyes and focused his energy, aching to return to the Eastern Air Temple, and when his lids opened, a pair of livid golden eyes met his own.

Aang swallowed, feeling his failure resonate through him once more, especially at the furious expression on Azula's face. "I managed to defeat them, but they got away," he said softly, unenthusiastically, expecting a brutal tongue-lashing to erupt from her lips.

Azula glared at him, her beautiful face twisting into a mass of anger. "I'm relieved that you're okay," she stood up from the Lotus Position and whirled around in a blur of color, exiting the room by stomping as her rage wafted off of her tense form like an odor itself.

His face fell into his hands, and he cradled his suddenly heavy head, groaning aloud; his failure to stop Vaatu, Ozai, Agni, and Devi wasn't the only thing that he had messed up big time.

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**Well, that's all for this one, everyone. I hope that you all enjoyed it; leave a comment and tell me what you thought. I'd really appreciate it! Okay, this one was really fun to write, and a lot of stuff happened, so here it goes:**

****Aang finally gives Samir airbending and it comes with some shocking events! How I always pictured energybending, specifically the sudden entanglement of the two users' chi(s), was as an adoption-like process. An Energybender is literally entering the chi of another person, a non-bender who has never experienced the chi of a bender, no matter the element; the non-bender's chi would be overwhelmed by the Energybender and eventually, because the Energybender is literally** _**giving** _ **the ability to bend whatever element that they themselves bend to them, the non-bender's chi would replicate the Energybender's energy, thus giving them the ability to bend. I added the change in Samir's facial and body structure because she is now an Airbender, and the race of Air Nomads had a specific body structure just as each nation's inhabitants do. So, because Aang was born to the Air Nomads and gave Samir airbending, her chi replicated Aang's airbending, and all of the energy that came with it and the body type of a pure-bred Airbender; a chi is kind of like the soul of someone, and while it isn't genetic, genetics do play a role in determining if someone bends or not, they have to.**

**A chi, at least in my understanding, in Avatar, provides the energy through the body, and for some genetically-blessed humans, gives them the ability to bend. Non-benders have chi(s), too, but it would do other things since it doesn't bless them with the ability to bend and live longer; it would heal the body like the immune system, providing the energy needed to combat diseases and such. The chi is the focal point of the human body, bender and non-benders alike, and Samir's chi would be engulfed by the energy of Aang's airbending during its replication process. (It would be similar to how RNA and DNA replicate and translate in the human body.) Because the chi is engulfed, it would change her because the chi is what provides life in the world of Avatar just as much, if not more than blood itself does – along with brain waves, of course. So, that is my long explanation as to why Samir changed physically to look very similar to Aang.**

****Toph faces some intense realizations!** **If any of you felt that I was bashing Toph, that was not my intention, I swear. She might be my favorite Avatar character after a 4-way tie between Aang, Zuko, Azula, and Iroh. Toph is a** **very** **complex character and, for me, she is really hard to write. My goal of her discussion with Pathik was for the same reason as Katara's chat with Iroh in an earlier chapter: maturity. Toph was raised by Nobility, and since joining the Gaang, she has been behaving as if she is still a child. She is not, she's 20-years-old. The Gaang will be facing a far more sinister villain in Vaatu than they ever did in ATLA. This will be** **war** **. They are adults now and are expected to be the face of the resistance against evil. How can Toph do that if she is behaving immaturely? Also, yes, Toph could never beat Aang; I am stunned every time when I read/hear people declare that Toph would beat Aang in a true battle – even defeat him in the Avatar State! That is such asinine bullshit, it really is. I love Toph as much as anyone, but she couldn't hang with a true Avatar, no one could. There's a reason why Sozin left Roku to die on that volcano:** **_"Without you, all of my plans are suddenly possible."_ ** **Roku's mere presence stilled Sozin's plans for decades because he understood the strength of an Avatar, and he was the Fire Lord! Toph is strong, but she isn't Avatar-like; she isn't even, in my opinion, Fire Lord Sozin-like in terms of raw power.**

**As for her refusing to cooperate when she first joined the Gaang – and sometimes after – it has surprised me that no one has seemed to grasp that the fate of the entire world was in the balance because of her selfish act. (I am well aware that she was only a child, and I cut her a lot of slack for it, but it still needs to be known.) Aang needed an earthbending teacher and the only person besides King Bumi, who felt that it wasn't his destiny to train Aang, who fit the criteria was Toph herself. She did run away from her home which took a lot of courage and I commend her for that, but all of that is pretty much tossed away when she decides that she's better off without the Gaang after a few days. They all went their separate ways and from a pure statistical standpoint, the probability that they could ever join back up in a war-torn world while Toph was on foot and the Gaang was on Appa was slim at best. (Because it's a TV show, they did, but the facts remain.) If she hadn't ever reunited with the Gaang, it is a real possibility that Aang might have never learned earthbending; if he did, it wouldn't have been nearly as strong as it was in the show. How many opponents and getaways did Aang secure because he used earthbending, the style of earthbending that he learned from Toph? A lot, and it goes to show how this butterfly effect would have had lasting consequences, potentially keeping the Fire Nation in perpetual power all because Toph was selfish and yearned for a freedom that she didn't really know anything of.**

**It is really hard to write for a blind person because she feels everything instead of seeing it, and that's when I realized that Toph must have been petrified in the Si Wong Desert, a place where she couldn't see well anyway, when Aang entered the Avatar State under emotional duress because the Sandbenders stole Appa from him. For all that we know, she hadn't ever heard of the Avatar State before; she had no idea what it actually was, what it entailed. During one of her lowest moments, when she was truly blind for the first time since learning earthbending from the Badgermoles, her friend, probably best friend suddenly becomes a divine god who could kill her with a twitch of his finger as his body is bursting with the all-mighty power and strength of every Avatar to ever exist; a voice eons-old that demonically echoes in her ears where Aang's once bubbly voice did. She would have been scared shitless, fearful for her life when she realizes who was talking: the goofy and fun-loving boy who she called 'Twinkletoes'. When I watched the episode, she looked completely frozen to the spot, jaw dropped, eyes wide until Sokka pulls her away:** **_"Just get out of here! RUN!"_ ** **Toph has claimed that she never forgets someone's voice, and it would be impossible for her to forget the terrifying voice of the Avatar State, of everything that she had experienced during those moments.**

****Koh is who is behind Samir's nightmares! Did any of you suspect him? Did you like the twist of him being the offspring of Raava and Vaatu, literally born from their union? I know that, in the comics, Koh is the son of the Mother of Faces, but if I'm being honest, I hated the comics. If any of you like them, that's great, but they just weren't appealing to me. I chose Koh to be the offspring of Raava and Vaatu – instead of being shaped out of energy by Raava and Vaatu the way the Elemental Spirits and Lion Turtles were – because he is very ancient and most importantly, neutral. He remembers when Tui and La, the Ocean and Moon Spirits sacrificed their immortality to, in this story, save the Waterbenders. And from what we know of his feud with Avatar Kuruk and his encounter with Aang in the show, he is neutral; he doesn't take sides. He didn't just take Ummi's face for the 'fun' of it; Kuruk himself said that people solved their own problems and that he didn't need to do anything. If we understand Koh's actions and Kuruk's words, it is then implied that Kuruk didn't actually LOOK to see if people solve their own problems, he never made sure that he wasn't needed. That is critical, and with Koh being so powerful and ancient, I think that he would rectify Kuruk's mistakes by stealing the face of whom the Avatar loved. Kuruk, of course, reacts out of grief and fury, and hunts Koh in the Spirit World for pretty much the remainder of his life, which would be over a century.**

**As for Kuruk never knowing where Koh's lair was, it's Canon. After Aang was shot in the back by Azula's lightning strike in Ba Sing Se, and during his coma, he was in the Spirit World trying to reconnect with his past lives, to fix the separation that the lightning strike had caused with his past lives. When Aang reconnects with Kuruk, Kuruk reveals that he is still looking for Koh's lair. You can find the short video on YouTube:** **_Escape From The Spirit World_ ** **. (It doesn't have sound, FYI, but it does have subtitles.) So, because of all of these things, I always thought that Koh would be filled with the energy of both Light and Dark, which equals Gray, and that's what I did for this story.**

**Okay, we discover the true reason behind the Great War: Vaatu. I know that some people may find the idea distasteful, but it makes so much sense, especially if Agni was corrupted by Vaatu. Sozin was a bad guy, yes, but there was once a time when he hadn't been, Roku had shown as much. All that the corrupted Agni had done, then, was give Sozin a little push in the 'wrong' direction and Sozin instigated the Great War, inadvertently increasing Vaatu's diminished strength and power. Vaatu is ancient beyond measure, and he would know his limitations and the ways in which he could supplant those limitations with his rightful power. It isn't too drastic to infer that he might've fueled the Great War, so that's what happened in this story. There's a reason why, too: Aang is a fully-realized Avatar, the most powerful being in the Realms. Nobody can oppose him, so I couldn't just use mere humans to rise up. I needed Vaatu, the equal of Raava, and who could gain a vessel of his own in Ozai to become his own Avatar. Only an Avatar could truly challenge another Avatar. (It's kind of like Star Wars: a regular, sentient being couldn't hope to contend with a Force-user such as a Jedi or Sith. Only they themselves could challenge each other, just as Raava's vessel in Aang and all of the past Avatars, and Vaatu's vessel in Ozai are the only ones who can challenge one another.)**

****Vaatu successfully coerces Devi, the Earth Spirit to gift him power over the Earth. I know that the scene is kind of out from left field, but we must all take into context exactly what Vaatu is. He is practically a primordial deity, the cosmic entity of Darkness and Chaos. By just being in his presence, anyone, whether a human or spirit, could become tainted from his darkness. And if Vaatu wants to poison anyone to control them, then he could do it. Only Aang – and maybe Koh – are truly safe; since Aang mastered his chakras, he cannot be affected by Vaatu's power because he is fully reconnected with Raava. Koh is his father's son, so already has some of the darkness, but it has yet to be seen if the Face Stealer is susceptible to Vaatu's unholy power.**

**So, because Agni is with Vaatu while attacking a lonely Devi, she is nearly destroyed, and the sight of the Fire Spirit, whose children had been slaughtering her own for a century, sends her into a fierce rage, and those murderous emotions are greatly fueled just by Vaatu's presence alone. Remember, Vaatu is Darkness itself and his presence would incur hatred and rage to cloud one's judgment and decision-making. Devi hates Agni more than anyone because of the Fire Nation's conquests through the Earth Kingdom during the Great War, unleashing travesties on her children. When she sees Agni after Vaatu sinks his shadows inside her, ravaging her broken body as it healed, all sense of logic and reason flees from her mind. The only thing that she wanted was for Agni to be destroyed. (Because she is now poisoned by Vaatu, she won't attack because Vaatu wouldn't allow it.) Add in the fact that Vaatu would technically be classified as her father because he and Raava shaped the Elemental Spirits, then Devi, it seems, was always going to be poisoned by Vaatu the moment when Aang and Azula flew to the scene.**

**Well, I think that that's everything so leave a comment and tell me what you think.**

**_Stay Safe_ **  
**ButtonPusher**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I really appreciate it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender**

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Zuko watched as Katara practiced in front of the pond in the Royal Gardens, something that he had allowed her to do, but as he watched her, his eyes refused to look elsewhere as the water from the pond swirled around her beautiful body. As she moved the water around, stretching into the bending forms of waterbending, he didn't know what to do. Since their discussion days ago in his privy chambers, he had been unable to keep from thinking of her and her words to him, about how she was willing to wait until he was ready. Did she mean what he thought that she did? Did she desire him? Did she even, maybe, love him? He had no answers and it was infuriating! The alluring Waterbender continued to afflict his thoughts constantly and so he had finally decided to confront her, but when he had stumbled upon her, he hadn't the will to stop her bending, to stop her twisting arms that sliced through the air in harmony with the water.

"You know, it's kind of creepy," Katara suddenly spoke up, causing him to tense. "You're just lingering in the shadows, watching me." Zuko closed his eyes for a moment and breathed deeply as he stepped into the Royal Garden, softly crunching the grass as he made his way across to stand next to Katara.

"I've always been creepy," he muttered to her, thinking of all the times when he had spied on others, particularly in his Blue Spirit persona.

Katara laughed and the sound filled him with peace. "That's not true, Zuko, it's not. You may be a little rough around the edges, but you're a good person, one of the best men who I've ever met." Her words brought a small smile to his face and when Katara saw it, she beamed and returned the water to the pond. "Your mother mentioned to me that you like to feed the Turtle Ducks," she then knelt beside the tree, rummaging through a sack that he just now noticed. "I had a feeling that you would come here, so I procured a loaf of bread for us – and for them, I guess." She held up a loaf of bread and sat in front of the pond, her gown looking soft to touch. "Come on, Fire Lord, I won't bite," she teased, a twinkle glowing her in blue eyes.

After a moment, Zuko rolled his eyes and sat down next to her, almost no space between them. "You've been speaking with my mother?"

Katara ducked her head. "Yes, she is a wonderful person, so kind and genuine. You know, she actually reminds me so much of my own… my mom." She looked back up at him, a soft smile gracing her even softer features. "I'm truly happy that you found her and have had the chance to reconnect with her, I am. I did feel envious at first when I discovered that she was alive, that you had found her, but that was foolish of me. I'm sorry for that, Zuko, but I am so happy for you, that you get this second chance with your mom."

He smiled slightly, truth coloring his words. "Me too," he whispered. "I hadn't had much hope, actually. My father had searched and searched for her for over a decade, so I didn't think that I would locate her. It wasn't until I was four years into my reign when I found her." Katara stared at him curiously, quietly, blue eyes open. "I had sent spies everywhere, following in my father's footsteps, but all of the spies always returned with nothing to report, and I had begun to think that it was hopeless, that I would never find her, that she was truly dead and that I should just stop wasting resources."

"But then you found her," she finished, placing her hand over his own, and strangely enough, Zuko didn't mind the contact; in fact, he craved more of it.

He nodded his head, a laugh bubbling through his chest that quickly escaped his lips. "Yeah, it was complete luck that I did, in all honesty. It was an accident and when I confronted her, she tried to kill me."

"What?" Katara looked shocked and horrified.

He chuckled, trying to put her at ease. "Nothing really happened, and I don't blame her for attacking me. If it were me in her position, I would have reacted the same way except far more aggressively and violently." When he noticed that Katara still looked disturbed by his words, he explained: "I was in my Blue Spirit persona at the time when I encountered her."

"Why were you in your Blue Spirit persona?"

"I always head to towns to let off some steam on worthless thugs, Children of Fire who refuse to obey their Fire Lord; it is quite cathartic, actually."

Enlightenment shined in her ocean-like eyes. "Your mother is quite a skilled warrior, then. She battled the Fire Lord himself and still lives."

"Where do you think that Azula got all of her finesse and skill from?" Zuko asked rhetorically, "It wasn't from my father. But if I had actually wanted to kill her that night, if I hadn't realized that it was my mother, she would have died."

Katara frowned, avoiding that last expressed thought of his. "I thought that your father was the strongest Firebender in the world, or he was before Aang took away his firebending?"

"Yes, he  _was_  but he didn't become that way until after he met my mother. From everything that I've heard from the Noble Houses, my father was a late-bloomer, like me. Like father, like son," he muttered sullenly, tossing a large chunk of bread into the water.

Katara's hand squeezed his own and he drew strength from it. "The sins of the father do not fall to his children, Zuko, they are his alone. It took me a long time to see that, but when I did, I forgave you – and now, I'm willing to even give Azula a chance. You're not your father in spite of your physical similarities, okay? You aren't your grandfather or great-grandfather, either."

Zuko didn't necessarily agree with her assessment, but when he stared into her soft, blue eyes, he felt all of his emotions become controlled. "Thank you, Katara. I needed that," before she could react, he suddenly pulled her into a hug, her face nestling into his neck. He closed his eyes at the feel of her in his arms and when he felt her eyelashes flutter against his neck, Zuko inhaled slowly and finally released his anger towards her, letting it go, vanishing as thick smoke did after a mighty fire. "I forgive you, Katara, I forgive you."

She stilled for a second and then she began to tremble, and then he felt tears slide down his neck, collecting on his collar. "Thank you, Zuko," she gripped him fiercely, almost desperately and Zuko held her tightly.

"I hope that I'm not interrupting," his uncle's amused voice drifted into his ears, and his eyes snapped open. Staring down at them, his uncle's face was carved with joy and pride, and Zuko groaned inwardly; knowing his uncle, he would probably want to know every detail of what had happened and would probably begin to assume things that weren't true.

"What is it, uncle?"

"You are both needed, along with the others. I need to share information with you all," he watched as his uncle turned around and after standing to his feet, Zuko reluctantly followed, Katara trailing next to him.

After utilizing one of the many secret passages, they all arrived in Zuko's privy chambers and to his slight surprise, Sokka, Suki, and his mother were all waiting for them. His uncle sat in his customary position on the couch and grabbed the pot of tea. Falling back into something familiar, Zuko grabbed a cup and watched without annoyance as his uncle poured both of them a cup.

He slowly reclined on the couch, electing not to sit behind his desk and to his surprise and pleasure, Katara sat down next to him. Out of the corner of his good eye, he saw his mother raise an eyebrow from the other couch and smile.

Rolling his eyes at the undoubted train of thought that his mother had followed, he turned to his uncle. "So, what information is needed to be shared? Is something wrong? Has something come in from Aang or Azula?"

A hum of pleasure escaped his uncle's lips as he sipped his tea. "Relax, my nephew. Do you remember what I have often told you? There is a virtue in work and there is a virtue in rest."

Zuko groaned aloud, "I know, uncle. You've also quite often, mind you, said that a calm mind is the ultimate weapon against any challenge. Those two are your most-spoken proverbs."

He was taken aback when his uncle beamed at him, golden eyes glowing under Agni's light through the window. "Exactly, Zuko! Now, drink your tea, nephew, and relax. Can you do that? Is it so hard?"

Despite himself, he ignored his uncle's unintentional insult and sipped his tea, feeling content as the warm juice filled his mouth and slid down his throat, coating his tongue with a delectable flavor. He leaned back against the cushions, posture slouching, and he noticed that Katara looked on in amusement from her vantage next to him, a smile tugging at her lips.

"Okay, this all fun and dandy, but what's the reason you called this meeting, Iroh?" Sokka looked antsy, and Zuko finally noticed that there was a flush to his cheeks; after a moment, he realized why. Based on the looks that Sokka was giving Suki, those two had been interrupted during their 'alone time.'

His uncle sipped his tea again and sighed. "The Order of the White Lotus is why I wanted to speak with you all."

"What about it? Has Bumi sent you anything else?" Sokka questioned.

"Yes, he has. I have officially received word that the Order has been decimated. There are currently only three of us left whom we know of." Zuko looked on, astonished, as his uncle blinked heavily, features contorting into mourning.

Katara swallowed next to him, the sound audible to his ears from the stiff silence, everyone's disbelief tangible. "Only three?"

"Bumi, Pakku, and I are the only members besides Avatar Aang who remain of the Order of the White Lotus. It was Ozai, no doubt - I have no idea how he found our members, let alone our organization. Jeong Jeong and Piandao are both dead from what King Bumi has found."

"Piandao was killed?" Sokka looked at the sword strapped to his side in grief.

"I am sorry, Master Sokka. Piandao spoke often of your achievements. He was proud of you," his uncle consoled gently.

"This is, indeed, dreadful intelligence, Iroh. I offer my condolences to you," his mother smiled sadly. "They seemed like good people. Was this what you wanted to tell else? Was there anything else?"

"There was more, and it was also about the Order, Ursa."

Suki leaned forward, "How does the Order work exactly? What's so important about it?"

Iroh leaned back against the couch, eyes clouded. "That's one of the reasons I summoned you all here. The Order of the White Lotus was created by a female Water Tribe Avatar thousands of years ago after a terrible tragedy."

"Who was she?" Katara gestured to herself. "The only Water Tribe Avatar who I have heard of is Avatar Kuruk."

Zuko closed his eyes at that name. "I'm pretty certain that everyone has heard of Avatar Kuruk. His name and legacy are notorious."

"Yes, I used to regale you and Azula with bedtime stories when you were both young children about Avatar Kuruk." His mother's golden eyes hazed, looking toward the past. "That's when Azula became particularly fascinated by the tale of Koh, and Kuruk's vendetta against the Face Stealer."

"Wait," Sokka interrupted. "He was the one who had his wife stolen, wasn't he?"

"His wife's face was stolen," his mother corrected.

"Damn, that's right. How could I have confused it? It was her face!"

"Her body remained in the Mortal Realm. She must have died after only a minute because she couldn't breathe. Koh stole her face on Kuruk's wedding, as the legends say."

"Koh must be one fuckin' evil spirit, then," Sokka concluded with a shiver.

His uncle glared at him, shocking everyone. "Be mindful of how and to whom you potentially speak of, Master Sokka. The Face Stealer is of great power. He challenged an Avatar and still exists to tell the tale. He could just as easily steal your own face if you're not careful of your words."

"But what about the founder of the Order of the White Lotus, Iroh?" Katara looked exasperated. "Who was she, and when did she exist? How long ago?"

"There is no definitive answer as to when she reigned, Lady Katara, but I do know that her name was Avatar Keska. That's all that is known about her."

"How come there are no records of the Order, then?" Suki looked at the group, "There are records of Chin's conquest through the Earth Kingdom, the forming of the Kyoshi Warriors, and there are even sparse accounts of a cult who worshiped an Earth Avatar named Boruk, I believe his name was. That's all of the Earth Kingdom records, but what about the other nations? Shouldn't they have their own records that potentially show record of the White Lotus?"

Sokka shook his head, placing a hand on his wife's leg. "No, there's none in the Water Tribes as far as I know. Both my father and Arnook have shown me everything of both Tribes and there's no mention of the Order. What about the Fire Nation?"

"Nope, the Fire Nation only tends to focus on the Fire Nation in keeping records," Zuko informed them.

Katara huffed out a brief laugh, her blue eyes amused. "That's no surprise,"

Suki gestured with her arms, raising them in the air. "So, why are there no records detailing the Order of the White Lotus?"

Zuko looked to his uncle for the answer and watched as he breathed heavily and sipped his tea, seeming to consider how to answer Suki's questions. "The reason for the organization's creation was that the Order would keep balance between the Four Nations while a new Avatar was born and training, or during a time of absence – such as an Avatar's death or during a journey into the Spirit World. You see, from what I know, Avatar Keska's intention was that members of the Order would act as messengers for the Avatar because he or she, in spite of their supreme power, cannot be everywhere at once. Suffice to say, the Order is heavily shadowed by secrecy; very few believe it exists and even fewer knows that it does exist. I dare say, to answer your question, Lady Suki, that Avatar Keska intended to use the Order as a group of individuals who would stay in the shadows and be able to disappear from a battle like smoke; her own - the Avatar's own - personal army that fights for the greater good and their own will."

"The Order obviously needs to be rebuilt," Zuko said after a moment. "It must be, but how are you going to rebuild, uncle? Recalling history is nice and all, but that is not going to help us defeat Ozai and rebuild the Order!"

His uncle raised one of his bushy eyebrows. "Remember, nephew, those who forget their history- "

"Are doomed to repeat it," he interrupted, finishing the proverb that his uncle had quoted numerous times in his life. "I know, uncle. It's quite hard to forget when you've heard it countless times."

"You are right, of course, Zuko," his uncle chuckled and sipped his tea once more. "The other reason I called you here is to replenish the ranks of the Order."

Sokka leaned forward, looking intrigued. "Now that's a good idea. What's the command structure?"

"The Avatar is the sole commander of our legions, Master Sokka. Whatever the Avatar says, goes. After the Avatar, there are four Sages – one from each of the Four Nations. After the Sages, there are five Grandmasters – one from each element and a non-bender for the role of combat, which was Piandao before his… demise." His uncle paused, eyes closed with grief over his slain friend and Zuko quickly refilled his cup of tea, hoping to bring him some small level of comfort. "Then, there are five Masters of each element and combat. That would total twenty-five Masters and each Master would be the overseer of sixteen warriors and apprentices."

Sokka whistled, "That's over four-hundred members."

His uncle shook his head sadly, looking forlorn. "Those high numbers haven't existed since the Air Nomads roamed this world, Master Sokka. There has been no Sage, Grandmaster, Master, or any warriors and apprentices of Air for over a century."

"That's awful," Katara whispered. "We all know about the Genocide, but it is still shocking when faced with the true magnitude of such death."

Zuko closed his eyes in shame over what his bloodline had done, what his own great-grandfather had done: slaughtered an entire race, an innocent race all so that he could murder a child.

"What's your plan, Iroh?" His mother then asked with her hands sprawled on her thighs, hunched forward, distracting everyone from the morose thoughts. "How do you want to replenish the ranks of the Order of the White Lotus?"

"Before anything is done, I would need the Avatar's approval for any replenishing of the ranks, but I believe that Avatar Aang will approve of my ideas." Zuko watched his uncle lean forward to stare at everyone in the room. "I plan to be promoted to the Fire Sage and I hope that you, Ursa, will replace me as the Grandmaster of Fire."

"Me?" His mother exclaimed, looking astonished. "I cannot be- "

"You are an incredibly talented and strong Firebender, sister." His uncle stared at her intently. "Your deeds express as much, no matter how tainted you might view them. You are powerful, a prodigy. Besides myself and your children – along with Avatar Aang, of course – you are the strongest Firebender in the world. It would honor me if you accepted the position. There is no one more worthy."

His mother swallowed before she spoke. "Very well, Iroh, I will become the Grandmaster of Fire in the Order of the White Lotus – if Avatar Aang approves."

Zuko smiled, "I guarantee you that he will."

A small smile twitched at the corner of his mother's lips. "You will be the Sage of Fire, Iroh, I will be the Grandmaster of Fire, but who will be the five Masters of Fire?"

"Zuko and Azula will become the Masters of Fire."

"Azula?" Katara looked at his uncle in disbelief. "I know that I said that I would give her chance, but are you serious, Iroh?"

"Are you sure about that?" Zuko asked quietly, "It's risky."

"Yes, it is, nephew, but it's needed, you both are," his uncle nodded. "I am indeed serious, Lady Katara. Whether any of you like it or not, Azula is a strong Firebender and Avatar Aang trusts her. If the Avatar approves, you should as well." Upon seeing the thoughtful looks on everyone's faces, his uncle opened his mouth to continue, but Zuko spoke before he could.

"I'm the Fire Lord. How would I be a member – a Master, nonetheless – if I'm already occupied?" He demanded incredulously.

"You would be an honorary member, nephew; only masters can claim such a title. You will never be allowed to rise through the rankings, such as becoming Grandmaster or Sage of Fire until you are off of the Dragon's Throne."

Zuko exhaled in relief. "Good, because I do not want, nor need, any more responsibilities."

His uncle then continued his strategy for rebuilding the Order of the White Lotus. "I plan for King Bumi to ascend to the Earth Sage, and then to replace him, Lady Toph will become the Grandmaster of Earth. The girl is very strong. King Bumi's grandchildren could become Masters, but I don't know of any other Earthbenders who could become Masters. I was hoping that you would all have some ideas."

Sokka's eyes sparkled, "The Boulder!"

Katara rolled her eyes, "No, Sokka, don't be ridiculous."

"But it's perfect! He's strong, he's on our side, and… he's the Boulder!" Sokka declared dreamily.

His uncle cut in, "We will keep the Boulder in mind, Master Sokka. Is there anyone else who could potentially become a Master of Earth?"

"Haru," Katara said after a moment of thought and Zuko felt, to his surprise, jealousy sweep through his blood.

"Very well, the Boulder and Haru will be considered for Masters of Earth. Now, as for Water, Pakku will be promoted to the Water Sage and Lady Katara will become the Grandmaster of Water."

Katara flushed, "No, Iroh, I shouldn't be- "

"Now is not the time for modesty, Lady Katara. Besides Avatar Aang and Pakku, you are the strongest Waterbender in the world. I do not know of any other Waterbenders who could be considered a Master. Do any of you?"

"Huu?" Katara spoke up, "You know, from the Swamp."

His uncle nodded, "Yes, but what about from the Water Tribes? That's who I'm looking for."

Sokka and Katara shook their heads. "All of the kids in the South are kids, too young, and the North is pretty hostile with us, even Sokka. All of their Waterbenders are more loyal to the Water Tribes than to the Avatar."

"Yeah, I'm their Chief-to-be, but it's begrudgingly so in their minds – and actions, too."

A sigh escaped his uncle's lips. "That's what I was afraid of. Very well, for now, Lady Katara is the Grandmaster of Water and there will be no Masters. For the non-benders, I believe that- "

"We'll do it!" Sokka exclaimed, wrapping his arm around his wife. "We would be honored to join the Order of the White Lotus, Iroh"

His uncle chuckled, "Thank you, Master Sokka, but who will become the Grandmaster? Remember, there is no Sage of non-benders."

Sokka's eyes widened and he looked at his wife before glancing at all the amused faces. After a moment, he sighed heavily, "Suki will become the Grandmaster of Combat. She could kick my ass anytime that she wanted to," he admitted.

Suki kissed her husband on the cheek. "Thank you, Sokka," she turned back to his uncle. "I would be honored, Iroh – I accept."

His uncle smiled, "So, Lady Suki will become the Grandmaster of Combat, and Master Sokka will become one of the Masters of Combat in the Order. As for other Masters of Combat, I believe that the Ladies Mai and Ty Lee would be excellent choices to join, as well."

"What?" Katara's jaw dropped while Zuko stared at his uncle with his only eyebrow raised. "But they tried to kill Zuko! Why would you want them to join the Order, Iroh?"

Before anything more could be said, by Katara or anyone else, his uncle held up his hand, halting everyone. "I am well aware of their actions, Lady Katara, but I have remained unconvinced of their treachery. If they are found innocent, they will be able to join. If not, they won't be able to."

Sokka frowned, "Well, they are remarkable combatants."

Zuko brushed his fingers against his chest, where Mai's shuriken had been buried, thrown with the intent to kill. "Oh, yeah, they definitely are." Katara grabbed his hand and offered a reassuring smile, and he tried to smile back. "Very well, as long as they are innocent."

"What about Smellerbee and Longshot?" Sokka asked, "Any of the Freedom Fighters, really?"

Katara shrugged, her hand still holding his own. "I have heard nothing from any of them since the Great War ended."

"The Yu Yan Archers would be excellent members, nephew."

Zuko nodded his head at his uncle's words. "They never miss," he suddenly felt his shoulder begin to itch from where Zhao had ordered one of the Yu Yan Archers to shoot him when he had saved Aang all of those years ago.

His uncle sipped his tea, "I believe that we have created a plan, yes? Whenever Avatar Aang returns, I will discuss the Order's future with him, along with my suggestions and our agreed-upon plan. Does anyone else have anything to share?" When no one said anything, Zuko watched as his uncle placed his cup of tea to the side and stood up to stretch his arms. "I think that I will journey to the kitchen. It is midday, time for a refreshing meal; anyone is welcome to join me." He exited the room and after realizing that he was feeling hungry, he shrugged and stood his feet. The rest followed his actions and left his privy chambers with him, bypassing the Imperial Firebenders.

When Zuko noticed that Sokka and Suki had gone the opposite way towards the bedrooms, he rolled his eyes. He himself had slept with many women before, but he couldn't understand Sokka's need to always touch his wife. He definitely understood the appeal of a woman's flesh, but was it because Sokka loved Suki? Was there a difference between love and lust?

When he had been banished and stuck on that damned ship for years until he snared the elusive Avatar, the crew had taken him to many a brothel and every time, he had lost himself in the touch of women, feeling everything fade away in the face of the great pleasure they had always given him. On his thirteenth name-day, it had been the first time, and ever since then, he had slept with plenty of - too many - harlots since his ascension to the calling of Fire Lord. He never acted like Sokka, though, unable to keep himself from acting foolish. For all of the whores, he has never felt anything except lust towards them and in some rare times, after his crushing loneliness had abated, disgust for himself.

Perhaps there was a difference between the lust that he felt for all of those whores and the love that Sokka obviously felt for Suki. Now, looking at Katara from out of the corner of his good eye, Zuko realized that, just maybe, there was a chance that he could have what Sokka had.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Azula felt furious with Aang and she was certain that it was because he had treated her as if she was some damsel in distress who had to be sent away from a scuffle, and because he had allowed Vaatu to corrupt Devi when she was in the Dark Spirit's grasp. The latter did, in spite of her best efforts, fill her with affection, but she refused to be a damsel. Aang shouldn't have forced her spirit away back to her body; together, they could have worked together. To his credit, he did defeat them all, something that revealed to her the true depths of his power, but because Azula wasn't there, because Aang didn't have any help, Vaatu, her father, Agni, and Devi all escaped.

To her slight shame, she had been avoiding Aang ever since he had returned from the Spirit World. All that she knew was that he has been teaching Samir airbending with wooden poles, and she was grateful to him that he hadn't tried to search for her. She had needed to think and evaluate her options and after much contemplation, she had come to two options: choose to ignore him and push him away, or she could let him explain himself.

Although she knew that logic dictated that the latter choice was the correct one, it didn't mean that she particularly liked it.

Having cemented her decision in her mind, Azula wandered the halls of the Temple, looking for Aang. As she passed beautiful murals depicting Air Nomads and Sky Bison, she wished that she could have seen what the Temple had looked like before Sozin was manipulated –  _he wasn't the villain of the story!_  – into starting the whole Great War by slaughtering the inhabitants of this very Temple, along with the others.

Many a time, since their arrival at the Eastern Air Temple, she had caught Aang's longing looks to rooms that were now sparse; it must have been truly beautiful before the Great War, filled with Airbenders and life and freedom. After the revelation that Aang had been attacked by phantoms of his past after Ba Sing Se's slaughter, Azula had observed him closely, watching him. When he had thought that no one was looking, she had watched Aang stare at nothing – like a wall or pillar – in a mixture of anguish and joy, moving his head around as if he was watching someone.

Eventually, she had realized that he must have been seeing – and still did see – the spirits of the Airbenders who lived in the Temple before Sozin's genocide. His words in the Fire Nation had confirmed as much:  _"_ _When at the Air Temples, I would often see the spirits of my slain kin even though I have already given them their proper burials and rights."_ Azula couldn't imagine how hard it must be for him to witness the spirits of his butchered kin roaming the Air Temples.

Finally, after walking to her favorite fountain, she found Aang speaking with Toph, who tilted her head in Azula's direction, but shockingly, didn't call her out on eavesdropping. Feeling curious, she listened to the conversation.

"Pathik has helped me realize how selfish I've been ever since I have met you, Katara, and Sokka." Toph's voice was quiet but carried strength.

Aang was clearly confused. "What? No, Toph, you've never- "

"Don't do that, Aang. Yes, I have!" From her vantage point, she watched as Aang's handsome face suddenly became flat, and she saw Toph grimace. "Yes, you know, you always have, haven't you?" She muttered, arms wrapped around her midsection in a rare case of vulnerability.

Looking at his earthbending teacher, Aang placed a hand on her shoulder. "Without you, we would have never won the Great War. I'm glad that you have finally found clarity."

"You don't get it!" She whirled around, glaring at Aang, and Azula raised a brow in response to the sight that greeted her golden eyes.

Aang's face hardened slightly. "My apologies, then, Toph." Azula was eerily reminded of how Aang had treated the prick, Kuei in Ba Sing Se. Based on Toph's pale features, she was as well. "What don't I understand?"

Toph huffed, bangs flying away from her eyes, a sign of false bravado. "I was so selfish, Aang. This is the first time that I have really spent any time with you since the Great War ended. That's eight fuckin' years. What kind of friend does that make me? I can tell you: a shitty one."

Azula knew the moment when Toph's words had resounded with Aang. His body slouched and his hands rubbed his face in weariness. "Look, Toph, I…" he trailed off.

Toph wiped what suspiciously looked like a stray tear from her cheek. "I just simply left after a few weeks after Sparky's coronation to become Fire Lord. I wrote no letters to you and we both know that I could have easily had someone write it for me, especially when I was with my parents and at Omashu."

"We all needed a break from one another, methinks, but yes, you're right."

"I've never thanked you. You changed my entire life for the better; you opened up a world of possibilities that I would never have imagined, Aang! You saved me from a life of bitter monotony!"

To Azula's slight surprise, Aang pulled Toph in for a brief hug, tattooed arms stretching around the Earthbender's back. "I know," his words were whispered, "and I'm not going to lie to you, I've been very angry with all of you guys for a long time – I still am, actually. It wasn't easy being alone, you know?" Toph flinched and Aang released her from the hug. "I'm still angry with you guys but I do swear that one day, I will forgive you, all of you."

"How long will 'one day' be?"

"I don't know."

Toph glanced in Azula's direction and smiled sadly. "I understand, Aang. I think that I hear Samir calling my name." She raced away from the fountain, and when she neared Azula she slowed down for a moment. "Good luck," she murmured and turned, following the Temple's spiraling hall.

Turning back, Azula stared at Aang, trying to figure out how she wanted to discuss her anger. Quickly, she collected her thoughts into creating a reasonable argument and she-

"Are you going to just stand there?" Aang still had his back to her, somehow feeling her presence, interrupting her thought process.

After overcoming her shock, she stepped toward him. "Earthbending?" She asked, assuming that he used the ability that Toph used to see things and people.

Aang shook his head and turned around to face her. "No, airbending," he said simply.

Azula narrowed her golden eyes. "Airbending? How could you know I was there with airbending? You can do that?"

"Of course, I can. I can feel the vibrations in the air before people even move; every breath that a person takes is a song in my soul. I see everything around me with airbending, similar to Toph's ability to see with earthbending."

"That's pretty incredible," she admitted, finally stepping next to him. They were both silent for several moments and she breathed deeply, sorting her thoughts into a thorough list that communicated all of her points about why she was furious with him.

"I'm sorry, Azula."

At his words, she blinked, wondering if she had imagined it. "What?" She asked dumbly, feeling foolish the moment when the words left her lips.

Aang softly took her hands into his own and led her to the fountain. They sat on the ledge, legs touching, "I'm sorry," he stared into her eyes - golden vs gray. "What I did, I apologize sincerely to you. I was scared and I didn't know what to do. You didn't have your inner fire and we were up against four – well, I guess it was technically three since your father and  _Dark_ were briefly merged – powerful beings.  _Dark_  had already proved that he was willing to use you against me and I didn't want you to get hurt. I couldn't lose you. I've lost so much, too much _._  I only had a moment's notice to react," he breathed deeply and stared at the water in the fountain, and she watched him intently, willing to try to understand. "I made a decision, Azula, one that seemed correct at the time. I don't know if it was actually the right one, but I can't take that back; there's nothing that I can do to change what I did, how I failed. I'm sorry that I forced you out of the Spirit World and broke your trust."

Azula kept her face blank, not allowing any emotion to show. She felt relief that he did, in fact, understand why she was mad. She had calmly listened to his reasoning and she was able to admit that, from his point-of-view, what he did actually made sense. He was right: she had had only access to spiritual lightning – which was a lot harder to create than regular lightning – and she was pitted against her father who was temporarily merged with Vaatu, and two of the corrupted Elemental Spirits themselves. In hindsight, even with Aang on her side to protect her, she was able to admit that her odds of survival were not bountiful.

After a brief moment, she looked at Aang's form and allowed emotion to color her voice, glaring at him. "I am not a damsel in distress, Avatar. I understand your reasoning, and even agree with it, but what I do not agree with was you allowing  _Dark_  to corrupt Devi because of me, incorporating Earth into his ever-increasing power, and then forcing my spirit back into my body in the face of trouble, thus leaving you to face the threat all by yourself."

"I know."

"I'm not sure that you truly do, Avatar," she gestured to herself, trying to force him to understand. "What if I did to you what you did to me? What if I forced you to leave me to face a dangerous threat? What if I was fighting my father or the corrupted Agni and refused your aid, sending you away from the location and battle?"

She was pleased with the knowledge that now shined in Aang's gray orbs as he swallowed thickly and clenched his fists, the water in the fountain reacting as ripples swept through, waves lashing up towards where they sat on the edge. "I wouldn't like it. I would be… angry."

Azula nodded her head. "That's right, Avatar," she placed her hand on his now-tense arm. "Now do you understand what I felt, why I was so angry with you about what you did?"

"Yes, I do, Azula," his gray orbs locked onto her golden ones, and she was struck by the seriousness in them. "I won't promise you that I will not do something like that again because such an oath is completely unrealistic, but what I will promise you is that I will consult with you beforehand if there is time available."

She didn't answer for several seconds, ruminating over his words, and she noticed that anxiety and nervousness began to grip Aang's frame. At the sight, recognizing that he was truly fearful of such things, she felt her anger begin to fade away. "It sounds as if we have come to an accord, Aang. I can accept that."

Before she could even react, he grinned in relief and crushed her into his chest, and instinctively, she nestled her face in the crook of his neck. "I'm glad, Azula," his head rested on her own, and Azula wasn't afraid to admit that it felt pleasurable, safe, and even loving.

Moments passed and when she began to feel the urge to press her lips against his neck, she quickly changed the subject. "What element will my father acquire next? What Elemental Spirit will  _Dark_  seek to find to corrupt?" She questioned into his neck, feeling him stiffen minutely as her hot breath collided against his skin.

Aang sighed into her hair, relaxing after an instant. "He will seek to acquire water and then air. Remember,  _Dark_ is the complete opposite of me; because your father is his vessel, he will master the elements in the opposite order."

"And since you learned in the order of air, water, earth, and then fire, my father will do the opposite: fire, earth, water, and air."

"Very good, yes. Thankfully,  _Dark_  doesn't know where the Ocean and Moon Spirits are. Besides the Lion Turtles and myself, they are the only ones who can gift waterbending."

"They're at the Northern Water Tribe, correct? Isn't that what you told me?"

"Yes, that's where they are at. I don't know if your father knows, actually. I just know that  _Dark_ doesn't. Admiral Zhao somehow found out, so do you think that he would have told your father?"

"I always despised that man. Zhao was nothing more than a second son who dreamed of being someone greater than his betters. I was happy when news reached the Caldera of his demise."

"Do you think that he told your father of the location of the Ocean and Moon Spirits, though?"

"How did he even find out their location?"

"I suspect that it was from Wan Shi Tong's Library. Because Zhao was able to gain the knowledge, it was he who killed the Moon Spirit, which resulted in the Moon vanishing from the sky. He succeeded and because of that, Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe gave up her life to return the Moon to existence."

"I already know that, Aang. To answer your question: personally, I would wager all of the coffers in the Fire Nation that Zhao did not tell anyone about it. He was selfish beyond egotism," she felt disgust sweep through her. "His aim had been to marry into the Fire Royal Bloodline."

Aang's grip on her tightened almost painfully. "You mean…" he trailed off and she felt pleased by the great, sudden heat of his body; the fact that his anger was great enough to trigger his firebending showcased his affection for her, whether intentional or not.

"There was much correspondence between Zhao and my father about the possibility of a marriage between him and me." Azula dug her fingers into Aang's back, feeling the memories of that horror surface. "It was almost finalized before the Invasion of the Northern Water Tribe. My father had said that pending an agreement on my dowry, I was to marry that fucking brute on my sixteenth birthday. Never before or since have I celebrated someone's death as much as I did Zhao's when I learned the news."

"I'm… glad that you didn't marry that- that hate-infected man." Aang said into her hair, his arms holding her without escape, and Azula had no intention of leaving them. "I never liked him, even when I was a child. At 12-years-old, I could glimpse the depravity beneath the surface. I was always wary of him."

"He and my father got along fabulously, I can assure you."

"That comes as no surprise, does it?"

Azula nodded in his neck, and when she felt him shiver slightly at the movement, she smirked in victory. "Enough about Zhao, Aang. What about the Air Spirit? Do you know where he or she is at?"

She felt Aang frown even though she couldn't see his face. "She," he said unconsciously, and that was interesting. Fire and Ocean were male while Earth, Air, and the Moon were all female, "No, I don't know where she's at. She had to have been weakened severely from the Genocide…" he trailed off, obviously trying to think of where the Air Spirit was located.

"Since you don't know where she's at, do you at least know her name? That might make it easier, right? Names have power, so couldn't you somehow trace that power?"

"Her name is Indra, and that's a sound theory, but based on what I know, it wouldn't work."

"Well, we might want to consider consulting Pathik about Indra. He might have ideas that are worth heeding."

"That could be beneficial."

Azula smirked against his neck. "Just like everything I do and say," she said with a mockful air of arrogance and his laughter was a pleasing sound.

"Maybe not everything," he teased before he fell silent.

She could smell him, his odor that smelled of the elements themselves. Nestling even further into him, she closed her golden eyes and was content to simply stay there for as long as Aang allowed it.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Aang helped Pathik make an Air Nomad dish that he didn't even know existed, a delight that, based on the small scraps that he had sneakily procured, would rival Fruit Pies. Samir currently sat on Aang's shoulders, leaning down to pet Momo who was curled on Aang's head, twisted into his hair. When Pathik would become engaged with another part of the meal, Toph would tap her foot against the stone, causing a small rumble which would smack a piece of food into her waiting hand. He glanced towards the entrance to the pantry, wishing that Azula would awake from her nap; she hadn't been seen since their talk at the fountain.

Pathik stirred the meal with a wooden spoon. "Aang, the meal is almost ready. Will you please wake Azula? I would not want her to miss such a delectable treat because Toph keeps stealing it."

"Hey!" Toph shouted, "Don't accuse me of stealing!"

"But you are, Toph. Must I smell your breath to convince you?" When Toph sulked against the wall, Pathik chuckled, glancing back at him. "Just put Samir down and then you can wake Azula from her nap. I hope that she feels refreshed."

Aang nodded and slowly lowered Samir off of his shoulders, ignoring Momo's irritated chirps as his animal flew to Toph's shoulder. "I'll be right back," he announced as he exited the pantry.

As he passed through the halls of the Air Temple, he realized how it looked like he remembered, except, of course, for the lack of Airbenders. Aang then thought back to Pathik's words:  _"_ _Perhaps you have finally found someone who would be willing to support you as the Avatar by being your wife and help you restore the Air Nomads to their rightful place in this world, prepared to bear an entire nation through her body alone."_

He had kept thinking about those words since his friend had spoken them. Was he right? Would Azula be willing? Would she bear the title of Mother to an entire nation? It seemed possible the more time passed. Samir already viewed her as a mother and Azula hasn't, from what he could tell, seemed  _too_  bothered by it. In fact, he had watched as she seemed to treat Samir like a mother would; at least how he thought that a mother would treat a child.

Since meeting Samir, Aang had to admit that it would fall to him to raise her, to adopt her as his own daughter. Her mother, the whore in Ba Sing Se had given her up when she was an infant and since she was an Airbender, no one else could help her, train her; none of the Gaang would take her even though Katara would say that she would. Samir had grown on him, and he was fond of her, just as he had said to Koh. She was so similar to how he remembered himself being before his identity as the Avatar was announced. She might not have been borne of Air, but she was an Airbender if there ever was one, and then there was the fact that she seemed to adore Azula.

But would Azula help him restore his dead culture? Would she be willing to bear children who were Airbenders instead of Firebenders? Since Samir was, in essence, his child now, especially since she looked like him, would she help him raise her into a worthy Air Nomad and strong woman? He hoped that she would, and it became more apparent to him with each passing day since he had mastered his chakras that he desired her as his wife, that he wanted no one else, that he would accept no one else. He wanted her to be the mother of his children, whether they were Airbenders or not. She had expressed a strong interest in his culture and that brought great relief, a fierce hope that, in time, the two of them could create something. If she did become his wife, he was more than aware of the irony: one of the heirs to Sozin would be the Mother of the Air Nomads.

Finally reaching Azula's quarters, he entered, prepared to rouse her gently, but he was perplexed when a rumpled bed with no occupant met his gray eyes. He blinked and looked around the room, wondering where she was. The desk in the corner had an opened scroll about Air Nomad culture, something about clothing, was lying in the center. The candles in the room were still lit, bathing the room in a majestic orange color, and he knew then that Azula wasn't in the room. The candles would have been blue; her very presence would have affected the small flames. Finding no clues as to her whereabouts, he closed his eyes and reached out with his senses, feeling the air and earth around him. Nothing. He focused solely on the earth, stretching his senses, but besides the normal vibrations of the Temple and Pathik, Toph, Samir, Appa, and Momo, he couldn't feel Azula.

Where was she?

He hesitantly exited the room, trying to figure out where she could be, but when he got nowhere, he decided to try and feel the fire and water around him through the Temple. After several moments, he felt the heat surrounding him and Agni's rays; water entered his vision as he felt all of the many fountains in the Temple and the lakes below the Temple.

_There!_

He could feel her now and she was at one of the fountains on the other side of the Temple. No, wait, she was in one of the fountains. In an instant, Aang smiled in understanding – she was washing her clothes. It was ironic for that very fountain where Azula was washing her clothes was the same fountain where he had met Appa; where Mother Superior Lio had brought them to the baby Sky Bison.

Aang levitated off the ground and flew to the fountain. As he approached, he began to feel her with his airbending and when he rounded the corner, he abruptly stopped, floating in the air, jaw dropped as he realized that he had been mistaken, that he had stumbled upon a sacred and private moment.

Azula was bathing.

Her garbs were tossed over the edge of the fountain and her pale, white skin encompassed his vision. Her black hair cascaded down her back into the water, strands of hair becoming curled inside the fountain.

Aang swallowed and willed himself to leave, to remove himself from this major breach of privacy, from the enticing sight of Azula's bare back, but even though his mind ordered his body to turn around and fly away, his heart wouldn't allow him to.

He may be the Avatar, hailed as a god by the Four Nations, but he was still just a man. He held the same desires as any man and the same weaknesses, too. Now that he had witnessed the sight of the most beautiful woman who he'd ever seen bathing, the same woman who he loved, he was unable to do anything but succumb to his weakness, gray eyes riveted on beautiful, pale skin.

XxXxXxXxXxX

After waking from her slumber, Azula had realized that she hadn't truly bathed since she was at the Fire Nation, which was over a month ago. After the horror of such a revelation, she had remembered seeing a fountain near her quarters, isolated away from everyone else, so she journeyed there, eager to sink into the refreshing water, eager to wash away the filth that certainly coated her body. When she had managed to locate the fountain, she gratefully slipped out of her garments and then sank into the cool blue liquid, feeling it soak into her muscles, leisure sweeping through her.

Azula was happy they had all been able to take some time off and relax after mastering chakras and Ba Sing Se's slaughter – especially for Aang. It was  _so_  peaceful, beautiful, and freeing at the Eastern Air Temple, more so than any other place where she had been. She loved it, and if she were honest, she could see herself living at the Temple, residing in peace and freedom. It was nothing like the Caldera, not one bit; there, expectations had always bore down on her like the heavens itself, crushing her under the insurmountable weight, and most importantly, memories did not lurk around every corner in the Temple conformed into the shape of her father.

She grabbed the rag, the one that she had taken from Ember Island, the very same one that she had used when she was a young girl, and sufficiently began to rub the grime off of her skin, leaving it smooth and clean. She didn't rush, instead choosing to take her time as she was reminded of how good it felt to simply bathe, to feel the relaxation course through her body. Within moments, Azula dipped her head back into the water, soaking her hair and when she raised her head back up, the hair was left plastered to her bare and wet back. Rivulets of clear water ran down her skin and curves, and when she slowly stood up, a sudden gust of air felt cool against her refreshed skin.

Her eyes widened in delight as she realized where, or from whom the air had come – she was certain of it! She smirked in pleasure at the prospect of Aang watching her bathe.

When he had spoken of his ability to see objects with airbending earlier, Azula had realized that she must be able to do the same with firebending. Everyone had a certain body temperature; Firebenders burn hotter than anyone, and if she focused, she should be able to see her surroundings, see things through the heat given off of objects and people.

Azula closed her golden eyes briefly, focusing on her inner flame. She began looking for warmth elsewhere, away from herself and she was rewarded when she felt a beacon of incredible and sizzling heat behind her, floating in the air, almost touching the roof of the Temple. Feeling wicked and playful, she opened her eyes and bent over, intentionally tossing her hair over her shoulder as she stretched. She smirked when she heard it, a slight sound, but enough to tell her that she was affecting the usually-calm Avatar. Ever since they had been forced together by the winds of fate on Ember Island, she had always known that he possessed excellent self-control, but she wasn't about to allow that to keep her from securing proof that he was attracted to her; Azula loved a challenge, always had.

She abruptly turned around, keeping her gaze calm and straight ahead, golden eyes innocently staring at the entryway to the halls. Silence echoed and instead of feeling disappointment, she felt motivated. Azula then stretched her curves, pushing her breasts out as she swayed on her feet. When she heard another hitched breath, she closed her eyes once more to feel Aang with her firebending, and she felt pleasure and triumph sweep through her when she felt his warmth; he rivaled an erupting volcano, the very Royal Fire Catacombs itself.

She opened her eyes and tilted her head up, golden eyes meeting shocked and wide gray eyes. "Is something wrong, Aang?" She purred innocently and mischievously.

XxXxXxXxXxX

When Azula had first turned around, naked body bare for his eyes to roam, Aang had almost lost control of his airbending. He hadn't been able to look away, but when she looked up into his eyes, asking him if 'something was wrong,' he did lose control, crashing to the ground harshly.

He was immediately on his feet in a blurred motion, pain a distant echo in his mind. "No, Azula… I'm- well, you see… food…" he trailed off, swallowing thickly as his eyes were riveted on the sway of breasts that were hypnotizing orbs of flesh.

Azula frowned, seeming unperturbed that he had been watching her bathe, that he was currently gazing at her nude form. "Are you all right, Aang? Your face is flushed, you're breathing heavily, your eyes are glazed, and there's a… bulge in your pants."

Embarrassment swept through him, and with immense willpower – and disappointment, too – he tore his gaze away from the glorious view of her to reluctantly stare at his feet, trying to force his arousal out of existence. "Yes, I'm… fine, Azula. Um… the meal is ready. Pathik asked me to- to come to get you."

"Oh, I had no idea. Will you grab my garments and bring them to me?"

He refrained from immediately raising his head, instead staring at her garbs tossed over the edge of the fountain. "Sure," he stepped closer, wondering dimly why she didn't grab them herself, but when he touched the fabric, his eyes rose and when he was once again enchanted and overcome by the enticing view that Azula presented, he wasn't coherent enough to keep the garments from slipping out of his numb fingers and into the water.

Melodious laughter echoed as Azula shook with amusement, causing her breasts to jiggle, and her supple and soft-looking lips were curved into a smirk. "Do you see something that you like, Avatar?"

He spluttered, looking down at the floating, drenched clothes. "Your clothes- "

"You didn't answer the question, Avatar. Answer it. Do you like what you see, what I present?" Azula's voice carried amusement and fondness and something else that he refused to dwell on.

He looked back up at her one last time and before he could hesitate and stop himself, he swallowed and then bolted back towards the pantry where Pathik and the others were undoubtedly waiting for him. When he blazed into the pantry, he ignored everyone's questions and simply tried to calm the rushing feelings through his body, distract himself from the memory of Azula's mesmerizing flesh, but he wasn't successful.

Eventually, he raised a platform for a table and sat down to bow his head, inhaling slowly and deeply. Once he became suitably calm after minutes of silence, he finally opened his eyes, and it was to the sight of Azula stepping into the pantry. Aang's jaw dropped when he glimpsed the Air Nomad garbs that she was wearing. She met his gaze and smiled at him coyly. "My other clothes were ruined - Fire Nation silk is  _so_  hard to mend when it gets wet. I found these," she gestured to her new garments, "in one of the rooms. I needed something to wear, so I hope that you don't mind, Aang."

He swallowed, "No, not at all, Azula." If he had thought that she was beautiful before, it was insignificant compared to what he now thought of her. The fact that she was, of her own accord, wearing his nation's colors filled him with emotions and he continued to simply nod his head after his words, too afraid to say anything else. In fact, because he was so overwhelmed, because he didn't want her to stop wearing them, he didn't mention that he could easily repair her Fire Nation silk by waterbending the liquid out of the fabric. He was selfish, but right now, as he stared at her, he couldn't bring himself to care.

He briefly wondered if she knew the significance and implications of her choosing to dawn the Air Nomad clothing. Aang could remember Gyatso revealing to him before the Great War that when a woman came of marrying age and found her husband, she would distance herself away from her birth family and become an integral focal point in her husband's family, mothering the new generation. This was done by the styling of clothing and if the woman's husband was of a different nation than she herself was, which wasn't necessarily uncommon for anyone not of Royal or High Blood, the woman would only wear the garments of her husband's nation, declaring herself part of the new nation, showing her loyalty and love for him.

Surely Azula had no idea what her actions conveyed; surely Aang was continuing to hold onto the past too much, and he refused to acknowledge the utter love and happiness that drowned his heart at the thought of him being wrong, of her knowing exactly what it meant. Azula declaring herself an Air Nomad who could bend fire was only a thing of his fantasies – it couldn't be true! If it were, then it would mean that Azula was willing to distance herself from the Fire Nation, from her home for Aang; he couldn't possibly have found someone who would joyfully bear him Airbenders, would support him in everything! He was overwhelmed by the possibilities and he looked back at her.

Azula smiled at him and then looked down as Samir pulled on her hand. He didn't pay attention to what they were conversing about; he was focused on her. Once, she had been the worst of his enemies, even more than Ozai and Zuko, her own family. Now, she was easily the most important person in his life, the person who he saw himself sharing a future with, the woman who he saw as the Mother of the new Air Nomads, the mother of his children, the woman who would support him, challenge him, accept the darkest parts of him that had spilled so much blood, and who would always be honest with him. The fact that she was also the most beautiful woman who he'd ever seen, and that she could easily handle herself against any opposition, were mere accompaniments that added to his affection towards her.

Aang felt his lips curl into a soft smile as Azula held up a hand towards Samir, blue flames perfectly controlled so that the girl wouldn't be burned, and the new Airbender giggled and pointed at it while Azula chuckled. Maybe, he could finally tell her how he felt; perhaps he could tell her that he loved her fiercely and, with it, bring peace to his life for the first time since before he was known as the Avatar.

XxXxXxXxXxX

The five residents of the Eastern Air Temple sat around the circular platform that Aang had created after the fountain incident. They all ate together contentedly; food was passed around and he was able to witness the Temple truly come alive again for the first in over a century. Since the Great War, the energy of the Temple had been broken, withered and splintered to the bone, but now, it was whole and something beautiful. Aang felt tears prick his eyes as a sight that he had never thought that he would see again assaulted his eyes.

Samir sat on his right and she ate Pathik's vegetarian dish happily, and when she began to eat her dessert first, a Fruit Pie that Aang had made her, her own gray eyes gleamed in the light of Agni's setting light. He was happy to see that Samir was satisfied without meat, but if he were honest, he knew that her satisfaction with such a change wouldn't last; she was a child who already knew the taste of meat, and sooner or later, she would demand that meat be a part of her meals. Aang couldn't blame her, nor did he; he was well aware that some of the Air Nomad traditions would die with him. He understood that and had long since made his peace with the revelation.

Azula sat to his left, body almost leaning against his own, and it was more than distracting. The images were still permanently burned into his mind and it was difficult to think of things other than her, how beautiful she was. Instead of focusing on the images in his mind, he tried to simply watch her without thoughts of her beauty. She was currently snacking on a Fruit Pie herself and it was a relief to know that she approved of the treat since he had shown it to her; she consumed them with gusto each time. She saw his eyes and smirked at him, fingers darting toward his plate to steal small scraps. She then popped them into her mouth, golden eyes glowing with mirth.

Toph and Pathik sat across from him speaking about the value of true honesty and what it brought to relationships, whether they were friendships or something more. From his vantage point, even though her milky eyes were trained at nothing or no one, in particular, Toph seemed to be listening intently to everything that Pathik was telling her. Aang was glad that his earthbending teacher was now maturing; it was a sign that she had been serious about her words by the fountain before he had apologized to Azula. Maybe since she had begun to take those steps, maybe the others would, too; maybe they would realize their errors and Aang could finally heal himself, bridging the rift between them all.

"Look!" Samir tapped his arm, a smear of juice staining her cheek. "There's a bird over there!"

His senses immediately were on alert and he did feel the bird approach towards the Temple with his airbending. He looked towards the direction and he felt dread at the sight.

It was a Warhawk.

Aang jumped up to his feet and he dimly noticed that Azula followed his actions. He ran to the edge and held out his arm and the Warhawk obediently landed, talons gripping into his skin, pinching with abandon, and he hissed at the pain. Azula brushed her fingers over the Warhawk's beak and the talons thankfully loosened. With the pain fleeing, he saw the Fire Lord's personal insignia on the message and felt something crawl up his spine. He slowly pulled the message out of the capsule and once he did so, the Warhawk abruptly darted off of his arm and flew to the table, picking scraps off of Azula's plate.

"It's from Zuzu," Azula noted quietly, standing next to him, seeming to realize that something was wrong. "I wonder what could have happened now. Do you think that my father attacked the Caldera?"

"I doubt it. He and  _Dark_ would have boasted of such a thing when we had met them in the Spirit World."

"You never know, though. If my father is anything, he's maliciously cunning and sly – and everything that we've heard about  _Dark_  suggests the same. They may have said nothing in order to lure us into a false sense of security, thinking that Zuzu, my mother, Uncle Iroh, and the others were safe."

He agreed and opened the scroll. "That's true, but here's what it says:

_Aang,  
I write this letter with a heavy heart, my friend. Something terrible has happened: the Order of the White Lotus has somehow been slaughtered off by my father; my uncle has received letters from King Bumi of Omashu and we've learned that only 3 members remain of the Order from the original 200 plus. Those who remain are my uncle, King Bumi, and a waterbending Master named Pakku. Katara has informed me that he is the man who taught you two for a short time at the Northern Water Tribe during the Great War. I'm sorry for the devastating losses to your organization, Aang. It brings me great distress to be the one to notify you of such hateful intelligence, but I'm afraid that it doesn't end. There's more to this message; it won't be a happy one._

_All of the Fire Sages of the various Fire Avatar Temples, save for several who had been found dead, have abandoned their post, their very duties. I have ruminated over this with great care and after many appraisals, I fear that they have all joined my father and Vaatu, choosing to forsake you and betray us all. If that is the case, many of the leading spiritual experts in the world – save for yourself, of course – now serve the Spirit of Chaos and Darkness and my father. None of us here know what to do now._

_We have all heard about what had happened with that bastard, Kuei. Are you, Azula, and Toph all right? More importantly, is Appa all right? My uncle told us that he was shot down, but was later seen flying away from Ba Sing Se. I can't imagine what you have been dealing with, Aang, but I don't know what to do. All of these trials with Vaatu are beyond my expertise; I know only about mortal affairs. You alone are the foremost ruler of the immortal spirits and their workings. We need your help. Please return to the Fire Nation and tell us everything that has happened, anything that you might have found. We need to all be together to defeat Vaatu. Please come, my friend.  
Fire Lord Zuko."_

Azula leaned her head on his shoulder to read the letter herself as Aang was deprived of utterance. The Order was gone, killed off until only three remained? The Fire Sages had betrayed him again? They had chosen to follow Ozai, follow Vaatu instead of him? After several moments, the letter fell out of his numb fingers, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Azula easily pluck it out of the air.

"We must leave immediately. Zuzu is right," she said, golden eyes serious. He found that he desperately missed the spark that had been there earlier.

"I know," he solemnly walked back to the others and sat down at the platform, staring forlornly at the remains of his meal; he was no longer hungry.

Toph immediately noticed the change in his behavior, his back stiffening, milky eyes rooted onto him. "What happened? What's wrong? You feel like shit- sorry, I mean terrible."

Aang couldn't speak, couldn't put the terrible news into words, but he didn't need to. Azula thankfully took over for him.

"We need to leave," she looked at Pathik, placing a steady hand on Samir's shoulder. "My brother, Fire Lord Zuko, through the Warhawk, has notified Aang about a problem that he had had no knowledge of. Forgive us, Pathik, but all of us must depart."

Pathik shook his head, "Don't be sorry, Azula. I have finished everything that I can teach all of you. You should heed your brother's message and journey swiftly."

Aang was finally able to form words. "Thank you, Pathik," he nodded his head in respect to his mentor.

"The honor has been mine, my friend."

"We're leaving?" Samir suddenly asked and he noticed that tears welled in her gray eyes.

Azula's hand squeezed her shoulder and she crouched down, face kind but serious. "Yes, we're going to the Fire Nation, to my brother's home. We're going to travel on Appa. Do you remember how much fun that it was the first time?"

Samir beamed; her tears were forgotten. "He did a flip!"

"He did, didn't he?" Azula chuckled softly, "We can always come back to the Temple, Samir. Now run along and quickly gather your things. We don't have much time, okay?" The girl nodded and ran off.

"What happened, Twinkletoes?" Toph was frowning severely.

"The Order of the White Lotus has somehow been destroyed by  _Dark_  and Ozai. Zuko wrote the letter and to top it off," he felt a hysterical laugh burst through his lips. "The Fire Sages have now joined  _Dark_  and Ozai. First, it was Kuei, the Council of Five, and the Dai Li, but now he's stolen the loyalty of the Fire Sages, my own personal followers!" Azula's hand on his shoulder grounded him and kept his control in check. "I suggest that you take with you what you want to, Toph. We need to leave immediately."

"Of course," she nodded and suddenly followed Samir's example, dashing out of the area and into the Temple to gather her own things, although he had no idea what possessions she had with her.

He calmed himself and whistled for Appa, waiting for his best friend to land before him – and Momo, too. He felt Azula's presence next to him and he sighed heavily. "We're losing," he didn't say anything else because he knew that she would understand.

Her hand gently stroked his shoulder and he drew strength from it. "Not for long, Aang. We've been underestimating them, methinks. Now we know not to do such a thing. Indeed, my father and  _Dark_  are growing stronger each day." She suddenly entered his vision and smirked. "Of course, with me on your side, you won't have to worry much longer. I'm not going anywhere."

Before he could respond, Appa and Momo suddenly landed before them both, showing their displeasure, animal faces pinched in anger. "Yes, I know, guys, but we must leave." Aang leaped into the saddle, checking to make sure that everything was tied properly, checking that all of his things were there. "Do you have everything, Azula?" When he received no answer, he looked over the saddle and saw Azula conversing with Pathik quietly. "Azula! Do you have everything?"

She said one last thing to Pathik, and his mentor followed the path that Toph and Samir had taken. Azula stepped closer to Appa, softly petting his arrow. "Yes, I do, Aang. I hope that you don't mind if I continue to wear these garbs. My others are ruined, and although I'm sure that you would enjoy it, I don't want to ride nude."

He ignored her observation about his attraction towards her, instead shaking his head, focusing solely on her attire. Aang shook his head quickly, probably too quickly, actually. "No!" He cleared his throat, "It doesn't bother me, Azula. Please wear those garments for as long as you would like." He gazed at her beautiful form dressed in his nation's garbs. Her dark hair flowed down her back, framing her face in loose waves and the orange and yellow colors swirled around her body beautifully, complimenting her pale complexion and golden eyes; it took a lot of willpower to keep from openly staring at her. How she had designed the garments around her body was reminiscent of her Fire Nation attire in the way that it was presented, how she was able to move in it; it was all very form-fitting and from what he could discern, Azula would have no trouble whatsoever performing feats of bending in the Air Nomad garments, looking as perfect as she always did.

"Good, I find these to be incredibly and surprisingly comfortable, freeing in many ways, actually." She then climbed into the saddle and jumped over to sit next to him atop Appa's head.

Aang smiled at her, "The Air Nomads were all about freedom, Azula. Gyatso often told me this: freedom is not worth having if it doesn't include the freedom to make mistakes, and never being afraid to do the things that make you feel free. In hindsight, I think that the Air Nomads distanced themselves from that over time, but the principle remains the same. Airbending and my culture are synonymous with freedom," he grabbed Azula's hands and stared into her golden eyes. "Gyatso told me that I could be whoever I wanted to be, that nobody could force me to be something or someone who I didn't want to be, who I wasn't. I have often pondered his lessons ever since I had discovered that I was the Avatar."

"And what have you learned?"

"I won't lie, it took me a long time, but I became free when I realized who I truly was." Their eyes met – gray versus golden! "I am the Avatar, but I am also Aang. I may be Raava's vessel, Master of the Four Elements, the Balance-Keeper, but that doesn't determine who I am and who I want to be."

"I think that I've had the same epiphany. I'm Azula, not princess, Sozin's heir, Firebender, or daughter of Ozai. I'm just Azula and ever since I met you, I'm okay with that. My former self had overrated life in the Fire Nation, the things that Ozai had taught her."

He squeezed her hands. "I'm glad you've realized that," he looked over the saddle to see Toph, Samir, and Pathik step out of the shadows.

"Let's go help Sparky, Twinkletoes!" Toph raised a stairwell and walked onto the saddle, plopping near the back by one of the grips. Azula climbed into the saddle as Samir entered and surprisingly, Aang watched as the girl snuggled immediately next to Azula. What was even more shocking: Azula didn't shove her away. He blinked away his amazement and pride and then jumped off of Appa's head when he noticed that Pathik stood to the side.

"It was good to see you, my friend, and thank you, thank you for everything. You've helped save me from myself, reawakening the bond that Raava and I share."

"It has been a pleasure to share the Temple with others than my lonesome. I've been filled with joy ever since you found your clarity and inner peace, Aang. I do think, though, that you give me too much credit. I believe that you reached peace more so through a certain someone than myself." Pathik's ancient eyes twinkled, "You've come a long way, my friend. You are no longer that child who I first met, but a worthy Avatar; I am proud of you, fiercely so, and I know that Gyatso would be, too."

"You may just be right about that certain someone," he said softly and then leaped back onto Appa's head bowed. "Farewell, Guru Pathik."

"Farewell, Avatar Aang."

Aang sat down and grabbed the reigns, feeling through his airbending that all of the others, including Azula, waved at Pathik as he stared at the horizon. "Appa, yip-yip!" His Sky Bison roared and floated, massive tail propelling them forward in a massive burst of air.

XxXxXxXxXxX

The meeting was tense and Katara was surprised that no one else looked stressed. She, her brother, Suki, Iroh, and Ursa were all present for Zuko's meeting with his advisors and top Generals. Ever since she had sat down, she had hated to look up at her friend. Right now, he wasn't Zuko, but instead the Fire Lord, and the Fire Lord cast an imposing bearing through the wall of flames; only his daunting shadow could be seen and Katara knew that Zuko liked it that way – his face couldn't be seen.

For what felt like an unheard-of amount of time, one of the Generals – she couldn't even remember his name – had been droning on about the current state of the Earth Kingdom and the threat King Bumi represented if he seized control Ba Sing Se's throne and all of its resources. Katara had tried to pay attention but had eventually given up after her eyelids had begun to sag and based on the drool dripping out of Sokka's open mouth onto the platform, she wasn't the only one who felt bored.

She was grateful, though, that Zuko's mother was sitting next to her, quietly explaining the General's reasoning and the intense traditions that the Fire Nation was rooted in whenever Katara had a question.

Suddenly, the General stopped his report, looking quite smug and Katara looked around, rooting her eyes on Iroh's exasperated features. No one spoke for a moment and Ursa leaned over to whisper in her ear. "No one is allowed to speak now until the Fire Lord does."

Before she could respond, the wall of fire flickered ominously. "Explain to me, General Lao, why King Bumi is a threat to me, to the Fire Nation?" Zuko's unnerving shadow didn't move but the flames slowly crept higher and his deep voice echoed through the room. Katara was ashamed to admit that she felt intimidated by the sight and sound. "He was one of my allies during the twilight of the Great War. He is a good man, albeit slightly unconventional."

The General's face, which was worn with deep, sunken wrinkles pinched in a mixture of fear and anger. "King Bumi is over a century old, my liege. He knows many secrets that could be a threat to the security of the Fire Nation. If he gains control of Ba Sing Se, the Earth Kingdom Capital, he will then be the ruler of two of the Four Major Earth Kingdom Cities. He is the strongest Earthbender in the world and I fear for your reign, Fire Lord Zuko. There are rumors of him tossing a small mountain on one of our squadrons twenty-nine years ago. I'm sure that you've heard the stories of your grandfather's reaction." Katara knew that Toph wouldn't like that. She was the self-proclaimed greatest Earthbender in the world but based on what she'd seen, Katara would wager that Bumi and Toph were equals. She was also incredibly curious to hear of Fire Lord Azulon's reaction to Bumi's tossing-of-a-small-mountain feat.

"You do raise worthy points, General Lao, but in spite of them, King Bumi is not a threat and this is the last that I want to hear of such words."

General Lao clenched his jaw. "Yes, my liege," he sat down in his chair slowly and his grumpiness resembled the reactions of the kids at the Southern Water Tribe when their parents wouldn't let them go penguin sledding. Katara managed to keep a straight face over the disgruntled General's facial expression but Sokka chuckled quietly - apparently, he had awoken. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Suki glare heatedly at her husband, but her brother simply shrugged in innocence.

"What other news do you bring me, Generals? Have there been any new discoveries on the Fire Sages?" Zuko's deep voice floated in the air, the echo ringing in Katara's ears.

"No, there has been nothing found on any of the Fire Sages. What does need addressing, I fear, is the fact as to why these peasants are disgracing your presence, my liege." Lao declared, disdainfully tilting his nose, still sitting in his seat.

Katara felt indignation rise within her stomach, but she quelled the urge to bend her water at the old hag, and she felt thankful that Sokka looked as angry as she felt, face flushed.

"They were my allies at the end of the Great War, just as King Bumi was, General Lao. They have been helpful and the Lady Katara is the only reason why I'm still alive." Gasps ensued and Katara watched as all of the Generals and advisors paled. "Yes, there was an assassination attempt, and the Lady Katara is who dealt with it, saving me in the process."

One of the Generals looked at her gratefully. "Thank you, Lady Katara."

She blinked back her shock, "You're welcome."

"Be that as it may," General Lao interrupted. "The fact that she saved your life, Fire Lord Zuko, is cause to trust her, but I fear that you only use and entertain her out of a sense of duty to repay the debt that you owe her. The Lady Katara offers nothing to this discussion, none of these peasants do."

The heat of the room suddenly became thicker, almost stifling. "Whether you agree with my decision or not, General Lao, is completely irrelevant. They are important in solving these problems; my father has escaped, and I trust that they will help see to it that he is either killed or imprisoned once more. I am personally acquainted with them and they all show great wisdom – most of the time – seeming thrice their ages. Their opinions are of value to me, more so than yours is."

Katara felt a warmth that had nothing to do with the heat of the room from the wall of flames spread through her at Zuko's words. She felt a small smile creep across her lips and when Lao, who looked thunderstruck, saw it, his eyes narrowed into slits. He leaned forward, but before he could say anything to her, someone else spoke.

"Whatever you're thinking, Lao, I urge you to rethink it." Ursa looked calm, almost bored even and Katara had never seen the resemblance between Azula and her mother as much as she did right now. "It isn't Lady Katara's fault that you are washed-up, always have been. Everyone here knows why you reached General, don't we all? Your daughter fucked my husband, and it was only through her, that you rose to the position that you have always wanted, third son."

Lao roared and flame daggers sprouted from his fists, hostility wired through his suddenly not-looking-old-body. Katara eyes widened and she snapped her gaze to Zuko, who, to her absolute shock, didn't react; the wall of flames didn't even flicker or rise. Apparently, her friend was going to see how this scene played out – his mother versus Lao.

"That would be a very poor decision, General Lao." Iroh sipped his tea calmly, raising a bushy eyebrow at the man. "Don't be foolish; your death will be the only thing to happen if you continue."

When Lao didn't snuff out his flames, but continued to glare at Ursa, Zuko's mom raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Really, Lao? Surely, you must know that you could never defeat me," she raised her hand and beautiful fire blossomed across her fingers, casting her face in a radiant yet deadly glow.

The General seemed to lose all of his self-preservation instincts for he snarled, glaring at Ursa. "I've heard about the stories in the Academy that claim your brilliance, Dowager Fire Lady Ursa. They're all lies, but beyond that, we all know what you did that night, during the final moments of Fire Lord Azulon's life."

Katara suddenly, for the first time in a while, remembered that Ursa had murdered Zuko's grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon to keep her son safe, unknowing that she had been manipulated by Ozai.

"Do you?" Ursa asked softly, "If my brilliance, then, is a lie, why do you think that you know what I did during the most-beloved Fire Lord Azulon's final moments?"

"Does your son know? Does he know what you did? How much of a traitor you are? You committed- "

"How far you've fallen, Lao." Ursa interrupted with a shake of her head. "I remember when you were just a Captain before your daughter, a man who aspired to be great and memorable. I can see now that only the latter is true and  _not_  in a good way, and even then, you only rose because of your daughter's habit to spread her legs."

Lao's old face contorted in hatred, skin stretching unpleasantly across his cheeks. "At least I have honor!" Katara noticed Iroh inhale roughly at Lao's words. "I am not a murderer who would dare desecrate the body and life of Agni's anointed ruler. My daughter is no whore! YOU ARE! It is you who is the leg-spreader- " a human roar exploded from behind the suddenly enormous wall of flames, the fire scorching the roof of the massive Throne Room, and the General suddenly paled and stammered, blood draining from his sunken features until he resembled a walking, living, breathing corpse. "My liege, forgive me! I didn't… " he trailed off as Zuko apparently broke decorum and stalked through the wall of flames, robes sweeping behind him. His face looked angrier than Katara could ever remember; his scar made him look sinister and she felt her heart race in fear as her friend towered over the quivering General. His look was long and fierce and black, a look that, if made into action, could flay one's skin from bone. Looking around her, all of the other Generals and advisors had bowed before Zuko, fear shaking through their tense bodies, but when Katara glanced at Ursa and Iroh, she noticed that neither of them looked surprised, or even affected by Zuko's actions.

"You've just lived your last day, General Lao." Zuko hissed, his declaration slithering into everyone's ears.

Lao shook his head desperately, "My liege, please! I have been loyal to you- "

"Insulting my mother, your Dowager Fire Lady, is not a show of loyalty!" Zuko growled, and before Katara could even attempt to calm him down with coaxing words, his hand wrapped around the General's throat, squeezing tightly. Katara watched in horror as Lao's eyes bulged from their sockets, and he gasped for breath, but none would come; the veins in his neck began to stretch so far that she thought that they would rupture.

"Agni Kai," the General, in spite of the lack of air, managed to choke out. At his words, Katara looked on in stunned bemusement as Zuko abruptly released the insulting General. Her friend stood tall and frowned darkly at the General as he stumbled back, hand rubbing his bruised throat. "I challenge you to an Agni Kai!" Lao declared, trying to stand tall just as Zuko did; he was not successful.

Katara saw Ursa raise an eyebrow in surprise and Iroh actually set his cup of tea down. She then remembered Zuko's duel against Azula to become Fire Lord during Sozin's Comet and she wasn't able to remember if that had been an Agni Kai. All that she could remember of that fight was Zuko's strength and power rivaling Azula's that day, of how insane Azula looked, and then the lightning strike that had been meant for Katara herself that Zuko had jumped into to save her from.

Zuko smiled dangerously, and to her unease – along with, she noticed, Sokka and Suki's, who also both looked as confused as she felt – it reminded her of the portraits she had unfortunately seen of his father. "I accept. Do you covet death that much, General Lao?"

"I like living, Fire Lord Zuko. I'm not ready for the Gardens of the Dead."

"No one is ready when death takes hold of you. You will die by my hand for your insult to my mother."

Lao seemed to change, hysteria bursting through his old body and Katara understood: it was the mania of one about to die when they weren't ready. "No, no, no! You will die by my hand, Fire Lord Zuko! Once I kill you," Katara's eyes widened at Lao's words. If what Zuko and Azula had done during Sozin's Comet was an Agni Kai, Zuko hadn't kill Azula when he won! "I will sit on the Dragon's Throne and began a new dynasty of power." Lao looked at Ursa and Katara was repulsed by the dark lust suddenly glowing in the old man's eyes. "Perhaps I can create a union between the old and new dynasties; either your mother or sister will do!"

Zuko leaned down, nose almost touching Lao's, his fingers clamping on the man's jaw, turning the General's disgusting orbs away from Ursa. "I will kill you, and then I will desecrate your name and family, revoking all of your titles for any who claim to be your kin, including your eldest brother. Your entire family, the entire history of your line will be shamed, and all of the property accumulated through the generations will be confiscated, and put into my holdings, belonging to the Crown. All your family's riches will be added to the Royal Treasury, to my own coffers." Shock coursed through Katara's body at Zuko's words, his scary declaration. Why would he do all of that? Don't get her wrong, she herself wanted to punch Lao for what the man had said about Ursa, but to shame the man's entire family for just his actions and words? She didn't understand why Zuko would do something so excessive. He released Lao and turned to the Imperial Firebenders who were stationed around the Throne Room. "Call for an Agni Kai, all of you! Spread the word: General Lao has insulted Dowager Fire Lady Ursa and challenged Fire Lord Zuko to an Agni Kai at sundown!" Two of the guards nodded their heads and exited the room, gliding effortlessly through the shadows.

The other Generals conversed quietly while Lao fled out of the room. "At sundown, Fire Lord!" His hysterical shout echoed throughout the room.

"Leave me," Zuko waved his hand and all the Generals abruptly stopped their whispering, focusing on their ruler.

"All hail Fire Lord Zuko, Master of Agni's Eternal Flame and Keeper of the Dragon's Throne!" They revered at once, scurrying out of the room as respectfully as possible.

Once the room was empty Katara tried to ask a question, but Sokka beat her to it. "What the fuck was that? I've never seen such a verbal ass-kicking! That Lao guy was shitting his pants at the end. That was amazing, Zuko!"

"He insulted my mother," he said simply, sitting in the empty chair next to Ursa, stealing his uncle's tea and to Katara's shock, took a sip.

Sokka frowned, his smile fading from his face. "I know that he did. He called her a whore- " he suddenly cut himself out, looking at Ursa. "I mean, you know, a derogatory word for a woman."

"You needn't be so careful, Master Sokka." Ursa gazed at Katara's brother kindly. "I admire your bluntness. Don't be afraid to speak your mind. Yes, General Lao called me a whore."

Zuko nodded, "That prick also implied that my mother had no honor."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Katara wondered, "What's so important about honor?"

"Honor is very important in the Fire Nation, Lady Katara," Iroh said finally, his golden eyes holding her in place, the knowledge in them something that she knew would only come to her in time. "Think of how history and beliefs are very important in the Earth Kingdom."

"Oh, that's definitely true," Suki finally commented. "Kyoshi Island is obsessed with the history aspect, particularly."

"Yes," Iroh nodded his head, "and in the Water Tribes, a family is valued above anything else. Isn't that right?"

"Family is the foremost value," she said softly. "So, honor is to the Fire Nation what family is to the Water Tribes?"

"Very good, Lady Katara."

"That's why you were so consumed with honor when you were hunting us!" Sokka said in realization.

"Yeah," Zuko looked down in guilt. "I had thought that my father could restore my honor if I captured the Avatar, but right before I joined you guys, I realized that he couldn't give me something that he had never taken away in the first place."

"I'm glad that you realized the truth," she smiled at him, and when no one else spoke for a moment, she changed the subject. "What's an Agni Kai? Isn't that what you did with Azula during Sozin's Comet?"

"Yes, an Agni Kai is a fire duel, and more often than not, it ends in someone's demise – just as it will end in Lao's later." Zuko sounded like he was reciting something, although his mention of Lao fueled a rage to enter his tone. "The duel affects the honor of both combatants – and remember, honor is the foremost value of the Fire Nation. If one's honor comes into question, like mine was, they are ridiculed forever until it is restored."

"What else happens in an Agni Kai?" Suki asked, leaning forward, interest carved into her features.

"Whatever titles, riches, women, and land that are under their names will be fair game. So, if Lao wins, which he won't, he would become Fire Lord in spite of me having Azula as my heir. Everything that I have, and I mean absolutely everything, will become his if he defeats me."

"The same could be said of you," Sokka with a nod of his head. "That's what you meant when you said everything will belong to the Crown, to your own coffers."

"Yes, I will take everything from him."

"Even his life?" Katara challenged.

Zuko looked at her, "I will kill him, I've already sworn to do it. Besides, it is incredibly rare when the loser of an Agni Kai doesn't want their opponent to kill them. Most losers would rather die than face the humiliation of having their honor taken. As you learn in the Academy and many of the Fire Nation schools, death before dishonor."

Katara frowned, "Isn't that a little harsh?"

"No, the Agni Kai is a tradition; it always has been a celebrated event ever since the dawn of the unified Fire Nation. In fact, my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Fire Lord Kai is the one who created the Agni Kai."

"Is it possible for us to watch you and Lao during this Agni Kai?" Sokka asked leaning forward, "I hope so because I bet it will be like Earth Rumble VI!" Her brother's eyes became dream-glazed. "If only the Boulder were here." Katara rolled her eyes at Sokka; she had never understood the appeal of that earthbending brute.

"Anyone of the Noble Houses can witness an Agni Kai, Master Sokka," Ursa answered, looking at her son.

"Yes, and since you are here as my personal guests, you are all allowed to witness my Agni Kai with Lao if you would like to."

"Count us in, Zuko!" Sokka grinned from ear-to-ear, "This is going to be awesome."

Ursa still stared at her son. "You didn't need to do that for me, my son. Lao said nothing that I haven't thought myself."

Katara saw Suki's eyes widen, "Wait, what he said was true? You killed Fire Lord Azulon?"

Zuko's golden orbs ignited fiercely while Ursa became alarmingly still.

"Fire Lord Azulon?" Sokka echoed, "Isn't that your grandfather, Zu- oh, shit," he suddenly breathed out, realization dawning.

"I did what I had to." Ursa finally spoke, not attempting to deny the accusation. "My son's life was at stake."

"None of you will speak a word of this to anyone, understand?" Zuko glowered at all of them, his golden eyes holding Katara in place. "I don't care who you are, what your position is in your nation, I can and might order your executions if word of this gets out – and I will know it's you if that does happen."

Katara swallowed as the truth glared at her: Zuko would potentially do it. He wasn't lying; he would be willing to order their executions if it was bad enough. He may do so with a heavy heart, at least in regard to Katara herself, but he spoke the truth.

"Okay, man," Sokka shivered, gripping Suki's hand, who herself looked tense. "We won't tell anyone. You'll never hear it escape my lips."

"And you will never attempt to communicate such a thing to anyone in any way." Zuko demanded, "No writing or anything else." He suddenly stood up, "Come, it is almost sundown. After my words, I'm certain that you all are doubting your safety, but you needn't to – only if you speak of Fire Lord Azulon's death is your safety compromised. If you wish to observe the Agni Kai, follow me."

Katara wasn't surprised when all of them followed Zuko as he led them through one of the secret passages, light flickering through the darkness thanks to the flames held in Iroh, Ursa, and Zuko's hands.

Iroh was conversing quietly with his nephew and Katara picked out a few words: 'give' 'make' and 'death'.

"This is going to be awesome!" Sokka whispered loudly, and she suspected that he was trying to rid themselves of all of the awkwardness. "I haven't seen a good fight in years!"

"When was the last good fight that you saw?" Katara wondered, "In the Water Tribes?"

"Fuck no," her brother chortled. "When Aang and the Loser Lord duked it out. That was the fight of the… century, I would say."

"No, it wasn't," Suki disagreed. "I was there, too, remember? That was the fight of the millennium, at least. Even then, it was definitely the fight beyond any other. The fight of creation, perhaps?"

Before anyone else could respond, a passage opened, and streams of thick light burst through. They all stepped into the Arena and Katara was amazed: it was an enormous platform with a moat of water surrounding it. She saw Zuko ascend the intimidating staircase and she went to follow, but Iroh gripped her arm.

"No, Lady Katara. That is where the Agni Kai will take place. We must be seated with the rest of the audience, albeit in a much more comfortable manner."

At his words, Katara looked up and she saw shadows of many people, probably all of the Nobles in the Caldera, seated in a circular arch around the entire Arena.

Iroh led them to what she guessed was a Royal Press Box, and when they arrived, Katara was pleasantly surprised by the decorated lush seats that were everywhere. "In a much more comfortable manner, indeed," she said softly, quickly sitting in the seat next to Ursa. She looked across at all of the Nobles, observing their stiff faces and their facades of strength. One, in particular, stood out to her. There was a man who looked older than Lao who looked on his deathbed, no blood at all in his cheeks. His eyes were red and his cheeks paler than a corpse's. She turned to Zuko's mother. "Who is that man, the one who looks like death?"

"Oh, that is Lao's brother." Katara hesitated to ask another question, but Ursa must have realized why. "There will be quite a delay until the Agni Kai begins. Feel free to ask anything else, Lady Katara."

"Why does he look like that?"

"Because he knows what's about to happen. After the Agni Kai, after Lao is dead, he will no longer be a Noble Head of one of the Noble Houses. Everything that he owns, all of the land and riches, will belong to the Crown and can then be dispensed to whoever Zuko wants – or he could even retain all of it for himself."

Katara began to feel sympathy for the man. "The Fire Nation is a lot more… harsh than the Water Tribes."

"Each nation, Lady Katara, has traditions that appall the other nations. Before the Dragons were hunted by Sozin during the Great War, I've read records that showed that the Fire Nation, as a whole, was repulsed by the Water Tribes' hunting of their own animals."

"I guess that's true, even though Sozin ruined the Fire Nation's awe for their own animals," Katara remembered Ursa's own words from earlier. "Is what you said true? Is Lao's daughter the only reason he became a General? Did his daughter…" she couldn't even finish the question.

"Yes, his daughter fucked my husband, Lady Katara." She didn't feel surprised by the coarse language; Katara was certain that if she were in Ursa's position, she would act the same.

"I can't imagine how that feels, but I'm sorry that Ozai was… Ozai."

Ursa softened, "Thank you, Lady Katara. You can say what you will about my husband, but he always did consider the viewpoints of others even if he always disregarded them in the end. What the two of us shared, I wouldn't consider a child's notion of romance, but we were happy. He was benevolent, charming, even kind – at least he was at first. Then Zuko and Azula were born and Ozai was so desperate for them to be perfect, to be better than he was, and only Azula was. No matter what I did for either of my children to help them see that they didn't need to be perfect, they wanted nothing to do with it; they wanted to be like their father, to make him proud, but Ozai wanted nothing of them except perfection – and Azula was always the one who delivered. My daughter and I were close once, but when she began firebending and it was apparent that she was a prodigy who rivaled her grandfather, maybe even surpassed him, Ozai pounced and the cycle of demanding for perfection began."

"I can't imagine."

"He continuously failed me. He demanded perfection of everyone but himself and he was the one who needed it most. For all of the things that he was at first, they were quickly replaced by nothing good. He was no longer a devoted, loving husband and a kind father, but abusive. His son and daughter needed him, and Azula needed help at the twilight of the Great War, but he was nowhere. His solution for Azula was to break her mind with his demands of perfection and thus, lock away most of who she truly was. His solution for Zuko was to permanently scar his face, searing his own personal mark, exiling my son with the threat of no return unless the Avatar was captured." Katara, besides the horror, felt a lot of her grudge against Azula lessen for she couldn't even imagine how she herself would have turned out if Ozai was her father; although, based on what she knew about herself, she would reckon that she would have become as Azula had. "I was afraid for what my children would become, who they would become. After Zuko's life was threatened, which was all a ploy by Ozai, after I murdered the man who I saw as more my father than my own, I fled on Azulon's demands. I had contemplated taking them with me, but I knew that if they were forced to choose, they would choose him – even Zuko. Oh, by Agni, I should have stayed. I could have eliminated so much…"

"I'm so sorry,"

"I loved my husband and I still do, at least the man who he once was, who I thought he was. I despise the monster who he has become. I've felt much anger towards Ozai and at times, I've been overwhelmed where I want to kill him, but I knew that if I do such a thing, I would set a poor example for my children, who have more reason to hate him that I do. I've never forgotten, nor will I forget, how he turned his back on his children, how he made them kill his enemies and innocents, how he made them nearly kill each other all for a taste of approval that he would never give."

"What did you do to keep yourself from killing him when he was locked away?"

"I sang myself the lullaby I sang Zuko and Azula when they were children:

 _The burning light of Agni bathes the sea in light._  
_Sense the peaceful warmth, touch the darkest night._  
 _Calm your angry heart beneath the winds of fate._  
 _Feel the tears of Fire, wash away your hate."_

"That's beautiful, Ursa," she said softly, thinking of the words.

Zuko's mother smiled at her kindly, but sorrow was visible in her eyes. "My son tells me that you were who witnessed his Agni against Azula during Sozin's Comet."

"Yes, he saved my life," she closed her eyes, images and memories of that day flashing through her mind. "I've never seen such a fight, such heat and power encompassing one area. I had burns from that day on my arms and face from just watching off to the side. Azula, by that time, had lost her mind," she ignored the sound of Ursa's throaty exhale, what even sounded like a whimper. "Zuko noticed it immediately and it took me a long time to see it. He said that something was off about her and I later learned how off she truly was. Zuko was winning the Agni Kai, I could tell and Azula must have realized it. Zuko baited her into lightning-bending, intending to re-direct it – to wound or kill, I cannot say. I had foolishly moved from my position to see what was for sure, the final stand-off between them – and, of course, Azula noticed."

"She always notices things like that," she heard Ursa say softly.

"Lightning crackled and sparked all around Azula's body and then she looked at me," she felt the fear of that day, of what she had been sure would be her final living moments in the world burden her mind. "Her golden eyes were manic and hysterical, insanity seeped into the furthest recesses of her mind and soul. Then she fired the bolt of lightning and before my eyes, Zuko jumped in front of it, willing to die so that I could live, could have a chance." Tears welled behind her eyelids, "I don't know how he survived such a strike. I've never seen lightning unleashed like that before – Sozin's Comet had flooded her chi with unholy strength, and yet, Zuko endured."

"You're who defeated Azula, then, aren't you? You're who Azula always referred to as the 'fucking peasant.'" Ursa whispered sadly and Katara finally opened her eyes, discreetly wiping away her tears. "Zuko has always been tight-lipped about that Agni Kai, only revealing sparse accounts. I knew that he was injured and because of that, he wasn't who beat Azula, but I hadn't known the true depths of what had happened." Their eyes locked and Katara saw golden eyes that were identical to Azula's staring at her. "Thank you for sharing such traumatic memories with me, Lady Katara."

Emotions almost overcame her, and she swallowed. "I thought that she had killed him. He was just lying there motionless, vestiges of lightning sparking every now and then when I was able to glimpse his body while evading Azula's overwhelming assault. I was so scared, so afraid that he died saving me, that he had just been killed." Katara felt her breathing begin to elevate before she intentionally calmed herself. "After I chained Azula," she ignored Ursa's sudden glance. "I rushed to his body, thankful beyond relief that he was still breathing, albeit barely. I healed what I could, but he still has that scar on his chest."

"I've seen it," Ursa whispered idly and Katara felt confused.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's just that I… I find it strange."

"Find what strange?"

"You said that you chained, Azula, yes?"

"What about it? It's how I defeated her."

"Firebenders can melt metal and thus break through it, Lady Katara."

Katara felt the air leave her lungs in a rush. "What? How do you know? Are you sure?"

"Because I've done it and I've seen Zuko do it. Only a firebending Master can accomplish such a feat and task, and for the Fire Royal Family, it's relatively simple. It only takes time to do it, but with Sozin's Comet overwhelming your chi, it would be as simple as breathing."

"What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying, Lady Katara, is that perhaps subconsciously, my daughter wanted to lose; she could have easily broken out of those chains to kill you and my son, but she didn't."

Katara sat deprived of utterance at Ursa's words, but before she could attempt to respond or furiously contemplate the notion that Azula hadn't given the Agni Kai her all, at least after shooting Zuko, Iroh stood in the Press Box from the other side where he sat with Sokka and Suki. "General Lao has challenged Fire Lord Zuko to an Agni Kai! Now let Agni's might be known for all!"

Suddenly all eyes were riveted to the Arena after a gong rang. On one end, Lao stood shirtless, his old body not looking quite old. He was pale, but determination and anger were seeped into his flesh, emanating like a sickness. Zuko stood on the other end, right in front of Katara and she suddenly realized that he wasn't wearing his upper garments, bare skin and muscles visible for all to see.

It took all of Katara's willpower not to gasp when she glimpsed the scars littered across his back and body, overlapping and swirling together like a poorly-constructed canvas. It wasn't just scarred; it was mutilated beyond what she had imagined. Iroh's words from in the Royal Garden echoed in her mind, torturing her:  _'...live in fear for years of his own father…_ _deserve to have his face permanently scarred by his father for merely speaking out of turn, then banished to hunt a phantomic Avatar_ _… Ozai abused them frequently, specifically Zuko. Zuko has scars all over his back and chest… the mindset that parents treated all their kids that way.'_

"You will regret accepting, Fire Lord Zuko!" Lao's angry voice pulled her out of her thoughts, and she watched as the General shifted into what she recognized as a firebending stance. When she looked at Zuko, to her surprise, he stood completely still, arms hanging down his sides, and he looked calm, even slightly bored.

"He's dropping his guard so Lao will attack," her brother leaned over to his in her ear and moments later, she recognized that he was, indeed, correct in his assessment.

Katara watched as it happened, could feel the tangible change as Lao's face became the color of blood, rage furrowing deep into his gaunt flesh. Fire blossomed from the old man's fists as he charged at Zuko with a hysterical cry of fury, looking nowhere near his age; in fact, he rivaled all of the Fire Nation soldiers who she had fought in the Great War.

Several fireballs rushed towards Zuko, but her friend lazily avoided them, stepping to his right, and in a smooth twirling motion of his arms, a whip of fire sprang from Zuko's hands, lashing out towards Lao.

Lao narrowly avoided the whip as he rolled to the side, blasting fire at Zuko. "I'm not dead yet!"

"You will be soon," the reply was filled with hostility and a deep promise; it sent shivers up and down Katara's spine.

Zuko suddenly jumped forward, flames jetting out of his feet, propelling him forward in a blurred motion. Katara saw Lao try to move to his left and barely avoided Zuko's outstretched right hand, but he was to slow to avoid the spinning, flaming leg that smashed into his torso, the smell of burning flesh filling Katara with nausea.

The General cried out in pain and fell, his old body crashing to the Arena's floor but Zuko didn't look pleased. "Get up!" The Fire Lord yelled, undertones of malicious intent poisoning his tone.

Lao unsteadily climbed to his feet, holding his seared torso gingerly. "If you want death, I'll give it to you, Fire Lord." The man cried out before he abruptly tossed more fire at Zuko, ignoring his injury to charge at him in anger. Katara watched with wide eyes as Zuko batted the fire away and, shockingly, sprinted forward, catching Lao off guard and ducked, crashing into the man's stomach. They both fell and Zuko landed on top of the General's body, glaring down at the man odiously.

Katara's breath hitched when her friend's hand closed around Lao's throat. "May Agni have mercy on your soul because I grant you none," Zuko growled and his hand became alight with brilliant fire, killing Lao by the very element that the General had wielded so proudly.

Zuko stood up and everyone in the audience kneeled, "All hail Fire Lord Zuko, Master of Agni's Eternal Flame and Keeper of the Dragon's Throne!" They said reverently, their voices mixing together to create an impressive baritone. Katara swallowed, trying to identify the man who she just saw with the same Zuko who was her friend, who she was fond enough of to even marry; he was the only man on her father's list who she would marry and lately, she had begun to think that such a match would work and could even be a match of love.

"By all of the Polar Dog shit in the Water Tribes," her brother breathed out, staring at Zuko in awe. "That was fuckin' amazing!"

"Indeed, Master Sokka," Iroh said, looking nonplussed by everything that had just happened. "My nephew has become a powerful Firebender."

Katara looked at Ursa almost desperately to see if Zuko's mom was as distressed as she herself was, but Ursa didn't look surprised or sad, merely poised; there was a blankness in her golden eyes that suddenly made Katara wonder if Zuko had just shown any similarities with his father.

Before she could comment, a sphere of beautiful fire surrounded Zuko's body, the flames prohibiting everyone sight of the Fire Lord. After several moments, the orb of fire disappeared and Zuko was nowhere to be seen, and Katara remembered Azula using that same trick when she, the Gaang, plus Zuko and Iroh had cornered the Fire Nation Princess in that abandoned town in the Earth Kingdom.

As she watched two Imperial Firebenders remove, Lao's corpse from its final resting place, Katara hoped that Zuko was at least affected by what he had done.

XxXxXxXxXxX

When she walked through the secret chamber into Zuko's privy chambers, her friend was lounging on one of the numerous couches, a bottle of firewhiskey held in his hand, his golden eyes assessing as he stared back at her.

The rest shuffled in and Sokka burst into chuckles. "That was awesome, buddy! While a little brutal, it was amazing, nonetheless. You looked bored, provoking a reaction from Lao and that dumbass predictably attacked you. You totally outclassed him! I had had no idea that you had grown so strong. Everything you did was genius. Then there was that thing where you caught him off-guard by sprinting forward, which was a stroke of intelligence if I've ever seen one. And what about that thing that you said at the end before you killed that unlucky bastard." Sokka whooped and whistled, falling onto one of the other couches, a silly grin on his face. "Damn, that gave me chills, but it was so badass."

It had given Katara chills, as well. She didn't like that Zuko, the man who had just killed another man and didn't even act or look affected by it. Before she became judgmental, though, she remembered Iroh's words to her in the Royal Garden. She refused to push her friend away after she had just gotten him back. It didn't ultimately matter that he had killed Lao. She herself had blood staining her hands from the Great War. She had no right to judge Zuko for his actions for if their positions were reversed, she suspected that she would have killed Lao, too.

"Well done, nephew," Iroh said, nudging Zuko's form aside and eased into the cushions next to him. "You have rid yourself of a nuisance and shown the Noble Houses your power all at the same time. It's most impressive."

"It was impressive." Suki leaned forward from where she sat next to Sokka. "Where did you learn to fight like that? I've never seen anything like it."

"Actually, I would like to know that, too, my son." Ursa sat next to Katara again, "I've never seen a style like that before."

Zuko looked mildly uncomfortable. "I created it on my own. It suits me perfectly whether I use my bending or swords."

"That's right!" Sokka looked eager, eyes wide and yearning. "We need to spar! We haven't done that for years. Your swords versus mine!"

"You think you'll beat me?" A small smirk twitched across his lips, "You were never able to before, remember?"

Sokka frowned, "Yes, I remember, but I've practiced a lot. This time will be different, I guarantee it."

"You know," she said lightly, hoping that her own eagerness wasn't apparent. "It's been a long time since the two of us have sparred, as well, Zuko," she hinted, alluding to their sparring sessions on Ember Island before Sozin's Comet.

"Those helped me with my frustration before Sozin's Comet," Zuko recalled and Katara could suddenly envision all of the sparring sessions the two of them had shared while they were on Ember Island. "Let's do both. How 'bout it? I can face you both at the same time."

"Deal!" Sokka jumped up, "Let's do it now! Since watching that Agni Kai, I've wanted to fight."

Katara sighed, wondering if Zuko would want to right this moment, but she knew that her brother really wanted to – and she did, too. "Zuko, would you care to spar now? We can do it in the Arena. Is that okay?"

Sokka nodded his head, bouncing it up and down. "Yes, then Katara will have water and I'll have plenty of space to kick your royal ass!" Katara noticed how Ursa's eyebrows rose at her brother's words and that Iroh chuckled softly.

Zuko apparently noticed it also, for he then stood up. "Let's go, then. I'm curious to see what'll happen, myself." He walked towards the secret passage and when he placed his palm on the wall, Katara, Sokka, and the rest of the group followed after him.

Almost immediately, after a source of light appeared from the flames held in all three Firebenders' hands, reminiscent of the first time when they had all walked through the secret passage earlier, Sokka began chatting rapidly with Suki about his boomerang, something about how it would be the key to defeating Zuko.

Katara didn't pay attention to his yammering, not interested at all. Instead, her eyes were riveted on Zuko's back as he easily glided through the passage; his strut was confident and lined with poise. He suddenly stopped and placed his flaming hand on the stone, and another passage opened; everyone followed him through.

"Is this the same passage from earlier?" She questioned, not distinguishing any familiar markings in the passage.

"Yes, you've walked through this passage twice now, Lady Katara." Iroh sounded amused and Sokka laughed aloud, his raucous chuckled echoing vibrantly.

Katara groaned inwardly. "How do you keep track of all of these tunnels? I don't recognize a single one."

"Mainly practice, my dear," Ursa answered. "Those of the Royal Family – and those who are joined through marriage, like me – undergo, from an early age for a Prince or Princess, training so that they can memorize the layout of all of the numerous secret passages. When I was integrated into the Royal Family after marrying Ozai, it took me only a few weeks to become accustomed to navigating my way on my own."

"But only a Firebender would be able to navigate it," she said somewhat sadly, not truly understanding why she felt sad.

"Toph could easily do it," her brother pointed out. "She would be a quick learner, if there ever were one."

"My wife, Natsumi was a very quick learner." Iroh chuckled, "Eventually, she knew the layout better than I myself did!"

"Azula and I were quick learners, as well," Zuko recalled suddenly, and Katara listened closely upon hearing the unmistakable fondness in his tone. "Lu Ten helped us at first, but soon, we were able to prank him and the servants without any suspicion ever falling on us. It was funny; we both thought it was the greatest thing."

"Don't be so arrogant, Zuko." Ursa chided gently, "The servants eventually caught on and pretended for both your sakes, and as for your cousin, Lu Ten knew immediately. I remember one time when he came to me in the garden, complaining about how his cousins didn't fully appreciate him as they should, instead choosing to abuse and harass him constantly. If I recall correctly, he had been covered in ginseng tea."

Zuko laughed loudly, the sound pleasant to Katara's ears. "I remember that one, actually. That was one of the first ones. It was Azula's idea and I was the one who implemented the prank; it was so easy to replace the cup with a fake one. She and I hid behind the curtains and we watched Lu Ten spill the tea all over himself."

"That's great," her brother whispered, nudging her. "We should try that sometime."

Iroh shuddered before she could answer; not that she really wanted to in the first place. "I cannot believe that you did something  _so_  cruel!"

"I'm sorry, uncle," Zuko turned around. "It was merely a- "

"How could you waste ginseng tea?" Iroh cried out dramatically and Katara wasn't sure if he was being serious or not.

Zuko rolled his eyes, turning back around with a huff. "It was funny," he huffed while sniffing. He then placed his flaming hand once more on the wall and it opened soundlessly, more light piercing through.

When they all walked out, Katara stared once more at the Arena, but this time, they were all alone, no Noble or guards in sight.

"Are you coming?" Zuko suddenly called out and she realized that he was already up the staircase.

Sokka raced up the steps, "Yes! Come on, Katara, hurry up!" She followed up the stairs after her brother, dimly noticing that the others had all went to the Royal Press Box to observe the duel between her and Sokka versus Zuko.

When she arrived at the top of the platform, she was amazed by how big it actually was; it had looked quite smaller from the Royal Press Box. Zuko stood on the other end of the platform, shirt discarded, allowing her to glimpse his scars much closer, and his crown was placed on his robes. His hair fell over his face and Katara was reminded of how he had looked on Ember Island, but now, he was much taller and more muscular, more filled out physically – and suffice to say, she could admit that she thoroughly enjoyed the sight.

Sokka removed his own shirt and he flexed his arms at Suki in the Royal Press Box, who rolled her eyes but blew him a kiss. Katara shook her head in exasperation at her brother's antics and began to take off her outer robe, feeling Zuko's eyes on her as more and more skin was revealed. When it was fully off, she realized how revealing it was, but when she looked up to see that Zuko was blatantly staring at her, golden eyes burning, she felt pleased.

Zuko seemed to gather what he was doing for he suddenly shook his head and pulled his swords out of seemingly nowhere. "Whenever you two are ready," he called out. "First to yield loses. What says you?"

"I say that we're going to kick your ass!" Sokka cried out, brandishing his own sword, becoming serious. "What does the victor get?"

"A story to tell until they die," she said confidently, feeling a smile grace her face as she stared pointedly at Zuko. "Not just anyone can truthfully claim to have defeated the Fire Lord himself in a spar. After we beat you, we'll hold it over your head forever."

"A bold statement, but can you prove it true?" Zuko tilted his head, "There's a reason why I'm Fire Lord, but enough of this stalling. Let's fight!"

Katara glanced at Sokka and nodded, giving the signal. Immediately, both of them rushed forward and she summoned water from the moat below, feeling confidence line through her body.

To her surprise, but not really considering that he had done the same earlier, Zuko didn't move as they approached. Only when they were close enough to attack him did he open his mouth, but when Katara saw the deep orange and red color emitting from the back of his throat, she quickly shielded them with her water.

Magnificent fire burst from his lips and when it smashed against her shield, steam swept through the air and Katara swiftly gathered more water from the moat, feeling all of her confidence that she had gained earlier vanish just as quickly.

Zuko had grown stronger since they last sparred, a lot stronger.

The steam didn't hinder them, though; Sokka ran through the residue to swing his sword at Zuko. Two twin blades were raised to block, a  _clanging_ sound echoing through the Arena. Her instincts from the Great War seemed to return to her and Katara saw her chance. Knowing that Zuko was distracted and could be easily incapacitated if she reacted smartly and quickly enough, she threw a water whip, expecting it to smack him in the side, tripping him from his feet, allowing them to force him to yield.

She was shocked when Zuko moved one of his swords away from Sokka's and swung it at her. She flashbacked to the Agni Kai when a whip of fire sprang seemingly out of his sword, wrapping around her own water whip.

Steam clouded the platform again.

The fire vanished from the swords and Zuko suddenly pushed his remaining blade against Sokka's, pushing him back, and then spun around, his other blade coming down on Sokka swiftly and viciously. Recognizing that she stood no chance at any close quarters combat with Zuko, she threw disks of water at him, hoping to overwhelm him.

Sokka seemed to have the same idea for he suddenly lashed out with a barrage of strikes that Zuko, to her surprise, effortlessly blocked and parried, all the while narrowly avoiding her disks of water. Sokka attempted to jump up and knee Zuko, but her brother was wholly unprepared for a bruising elbow strike to his extended knee, sending him to the ground in a heap of limbs.

Katara's breath hitched when Zuko, without a moment's delay, sprang towards her with the grace of a feline creature, fire flowing out of his feet to propel him faster. She darted to her side, avoiding his outstretched arms and threw more water whips at him, intentionally aiming for an area that wasn't his chest.

He was obviously caught by surprise when the water whip wrapped around his flaming foot and yanked him down, but he was back on his feet and on the attack swiftly. Katara was waiting; she threw more water at his chest immediately and it discombobulated him, and he stumbled slightly. Then Sokka charged, sword raised but before he made it any further, a fireball was blasted at him. Her brother jumped to the side and in one smooth motion, pulled out his boomerang and flicked at Zuko.

He leaned out of the way and the boomerang sailed past his head, curving into the air and Katara smiled devilishly, understanding Sokka's plan. To keep Zuko distracted and from moving, she transmuted the water into ice and threw shards at him, not intending to kill but to scrape and scratch.

Zuko's fists became alight with hot and deadly flames and he began batting the shards away from his body, punching through some of them even and the boomerang began to curve back around in the air, returning once more.

Katara threw more ice knives and saw Sokka's face split into a grin as Zuko was still distracted. As the boomerang approached, Zuko's head twitched to the side and Katara knew that he had somehow heard the weapon. Her friend suddenly created a wall of fire and shoved it at her, destroying all of the approaching shards of ice and hiding him from view for a moment.

When the fire vanished, Katara gasped when Zuko stood before them with the boomerang in his hand, a wild smirk on his face, and the sight brought a smile to Katara's own face. "That's not going to ever happen a second time, trust me."

"How did you do that with the fire?" She demanded, "I've never seen that before, how you wrapped it around the blade."

"Through lots of practice, but sadly, I can rarely do it."

"Why?" Sokka leaned forward slightly, preparing to attack as soon as they were ready.

"If I do it too long, I will melt my sword; my flames are much too hot for the metal."

She then tossed more ice knives towards him, but he had learned from earlier, and after dropping the boomerang, created a shield of pure fire. The ice was instantly destroyed when it touched the shield and once it all cleared, Zuko was nowhere to be seen.

Katara felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, and she instinctively turned around, water raised in defense. Sokka followed her lead and they both stared at Zuko, and she cataloged the differences that she could see in him; he looked more relaxed than she had ever seen him, his golden eyes were vibrant with emotions, and Katara was glad that she was part of the reason why.

He smiled at them, a truly genuine smile. "You've both gotten better."

"You have, too," she countered, not wanting to tell him how much better he had become; she dared to admit that he was better than the both of them.

That was when she glimpsed it, the fundamental key to their victory. Behind Zuko, water had collected in a puddle, and her friend was none the wiser. The opportunity was upon them and when she glanced at her brother, he winked back, confirming that he had noticed what she had.

Sokka charged with a roar and threw his boomerang, but Zuko neatly side-stepped it and brought his swords down on Sokka hard; both men strained, but it was clear from her vantage point that Zuko was stronger. Katara patiently waited for her opportunity and it arrived just moments later: just as her friend disarmed Sokka, she yanked her hands towards herself in a fierce motion, and to her glee, the puddle of water shot towards her friend's unsuspecting back.

Zuko had shoved Sokka to his knees, but his head perked up when he heard the sound of water rushing towards him from behind, but it was too late. Before he could react, the water slammed into his back and he tripped over Sokka's intentionally sprawled leg, stumbling until he crashed to the Arena floor in his own heap of limbs.

Water soaked him and Katara quickly clenched her fingers into tight fists, forcing the water to freeze, to become a prison of ice.

Sokka laid his head back, waving at her lazily. "I'm exhausted, you must finish it." Sweat covered his body and looking down at herself, feeling how hard she was breathing, Katara was little better; it had been a long time since she had fought someone or something so strenuously.

She nodded and slowly approached Zuko's suspiciously still-frozen form. Why hadn't he melted the ice? What was he up to? She stood away by several steps, holding her hands in front of her tensely, prepared for an attack, her blue eyes locking onto his golden ones. "Do you yield, Zuko?"

The ice suddenly evaporated into steam and Zuko stood, towering over her. "Not yet," he smirked, and fire blazed towards Katara out of nowhere. Before panic swept through her, she swiftly coated her hands with water and jumped through the wall of fire, hands ripping through the flames and steam arose to cloud the air from the contact.

Zuko looked surprised but continued his attack, throwing more fireballs at her. Katara avoided them and threw the water coating her hands at him, almost laughing at his gob-smacked expression when it splashed him in the face. He then blinked several times to clear his vision and jumped forward, flames blasting out of his feet.

Katara rolled out of the way and knew that she had to end this quickly. Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her; her muscles burned, and she was heaving in gulps of air, but when she looked at Zuko, she felt dismayed to see that he didn't even look tired.

With a sudden burst of energy, she used all of her strength to lift as much water from the moat below as she possibly could. Her arms wavered under the strain, but when Zuko looked at the tsunami approaching him warily and then coated his hands in flames, Katara grinned; she then gathered it all into a massive wave and threw it at him with a hoarse cry of effort.

He inhaled deeply and crouched, then shoving his fists forward and massive spurts of fire were unleashed; they were strongest flames that she had ever seen that were without the aid of Sozin's Comet. While he himself was distracted, Katara didn't let that realization distract her as she approached him silently, hoping to sneak up on him, but just when she reached him, Zuko suddenly spun around; his arm wrapped around her body and flipped her over his shoulder roughly, and within a moment, he held a fire dagger to her neck. "Do you yield?" He asked, golden eyes burning with fire.

Katara stared up at him and smiled, ignoring the aching of her body "Do you yield, Zuko?" She pressed the tip of the ice knife that she created into his stomach, watching pride-filled as his eyes widened and he glanced down at the knife.

"It seems that we are in quite a conundrum," he observed after a moment, looking back at her, eyes gazing down at her fondly. Katara swallowed and when she licked her lips, Zuko stared heatedly, and after a moment, he quickly jumped back. "I yield to Katara," he announced loudly, looking at their audience.

"YES!" Sokka cried out, jumping to his feet, "We kicked the Fire Lord's ass!"

Katara refused to dwell on the disappointment that rushed through her body and stood up as well. "No, Sokka, I kicked Zuko's ass, not you. It was me to whom he yielded, not you."

Her brother ignored her and began clapping and hollering in happiness because the Water Tribes were better than the Fire Nation, and Iroh, Ursa, and Suki were smiling from the Royal Press Box, amused expressions on their faces.

Instead of staring at her brother like everyone else seemed to, she stared at Zuko, who was looking at the ground. Her father's timetable no longer seemed to mock her because things were getting better, and she was potently relieved to see that he obviously felt what she herself had been feeling, the shared affection between them. Perhaps she could finally have what Sokka has had for years with Suki and perhaps, she could have that shared love and trust with Zuko.

XxXxXxXxXxX

**That's everything! I liked the pacing of this one. Leave a review and tell me positive and/or negatives with the chapter!**

****The Order of the White Lotus has been slaughtered down to, what they know of, three members: Pakku, Bumi, and Iroh. The Order is now being re-stocked with people who would be loyal to the Avatar. In Canon, it was never really discussed how the Order came to exist, so I created a little snippet that, I hope, would sound plausible.**

**If any of you are uncomfortable with Zuko sleeping with harlots and whores, I'm sorry, but it's something that would have definitely happened. Royalty, from the era that the show is based on, particularly the men, would sleep around. It was commonplace for Princes and Kings to have a harem of women and visit brothels all of the time, to have multiple mistresses to please them. I'm pretty sure that we can all agree that Ozai would have done all of that to the highest degree, probably siring children that he forced the women to terminate so as to not create challengers for the Dragon's Throne. Zuko has thus followed in his father's footsteps, somewhat. Keep in mind that before he found his mother, he was also dreadfully lonely. All who he had was Azula, who was locked away in a Mental Health ward, Aang, who couldn't stay in the Fire Nation because he was the Avatar, and his uncle, who lived in Ba Sing Se. It makes sense that after the Great War, Zuko would seek out a way to abate his loneliness, and if women offered themselves to him, it was the perfect way to do that.**

****It's clear in the show that Ozai wanted Zuko as his heir and no one else, or at least a legitimate son. Since Zuko was his only one, he was Ozai's only option. For all of Azula's perfection, in Ozai's eyes, she would never be Fire Lord because she was female. Zuko was still heir to the Dragon's Throne during his banishment; he wasn't removed from the line of succession. Ozai never removed him from the line of succession, not truly. If he had, Zuko could have never returned to the Fire Nation after the Ba Sing Se** **_Crossroads of Destiny._ ** **Even after he confronted Ozai on the Day of Black Sun, Zuko was still Prince. (Otherwise, why would Azula be so wary of her brother after he left? It's because she knew of the threat that only he posed to her chances of sitting on the Dragon's Throne.)**

**Azula was only given the Dragon's Throne while Ozai became Phoenix King because she was the last resort. It makes sense, that if Ozai believed Zuko to never be worthy of inheriting the Dragon's Throne, that Ozai would create a marriage for Azula where her husband would become Fire Lord, and through her body, the true heir to the Dragon's Throne would be produced. That is what happened in this and Azula was almost married to Zhao, but thankfully, Aang – or rather, the Ocean Spirit – took care of the brute.**

****Okay, I wrote the whole Aang-stumbling-upon-Azula-bathing scene as kind of a kick-in-the-rear. He's been stubbornly resistant to the idea of a union between himself and Azula, but if he was able to see firsthand, the true beauty of Azula, his resolve could begin to weaken. I know that the scene might be awkward and strange, but for Azula, she seems like the type of person who wouldn't mind. Don't get me wrong, if it were anyone else besides Aang who stumbled upon her bathing, she would kill them painfully and slowly, but since it's Aang, she's delighted. Men are visual creatures, it's how they're wired and programmed, and Azula recognizes that; she wouldn't keep such an opportunity for her to grow closer to Aang from happening.**

****Katara and Ursa talk! I've always been fascinated with Ursa's character and I hated what was done to her in the comics. I compare her character to Senya in Star Wars, the wife of Emperor Valkorion/Tenebrae/Vitiate. In fact, several of the things that Ursa said in the chapter, including the lullaby, are based on some of Senya's quotes. I think that Katara and Ursa would easily be able to find common ground between one another because I think that they would be so similar, personality-wise.**

**All right, about the whole Azula-breaking-free-from-her-chains thing: Firebenders can melt metal with enough time. Now, Sozin's Comet was flooding the sky during that Agni Kai between Zuko/Katara and Azula. Did you see the massive plumes of searing flames? After Katara chained Azula, she could have easily escaped. I know that the way she was chained is difficult to do a precise blast of flames, but with Sozin's Comet strengthening her chi, it wouldn't be a concern. Personally, the only reason why Azula didn't break free and slaughter Zuko and Katara was that her mind was truly splintered, broken almost beyond repair. Maybe she also, as Ursa said, wanted to subconsciously lose to Katara. In Canon, at least to me, it was shown that Azula did care about Zuko, not to the degree that a normal sibling would, but from some of her actions, it's clear that she held affection for her exiled, long-lost brother. Perhaps she wanted to lose because she, at least in her mind, killed her brother; she had no way of knowing if Zuko had survived her lightning strike, and based on what we've seen of Azula's lightning, she never misses.**

****For those of you wondering about why Katara and Sokka weren't in the best of fighting shape, it's because they've been at the South Pole for years. To be blunt, they've become sort of lazy. There were no worthy opponents they could spar with besides themselves and as a result, their endurance vanished. If you train over and over again against the same opponent, one who isn't even a bender, your skills naturally degrade. Katara may have sparred or practiced with Pakku a few times, but they would be few and far between; it wouldn't be a consistent regime where she could become even stronger and keep up her endurance in a battle.**

**Well, that's all for this one. If you want, leave a review and tell me what you thought of the chapter. I'd really appreciate!**

**_Stay Safe_ **  
**ButtonPusher**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender**

XxXxXxXxXxX

The flight to the Fire Nation, specifically to the Caldera had begun to take its toll, and as Aang sat in the saddle with Toph, Samir, and Azula while Appa continued to dart through the sky silently, he felt weary. They had just entered the outskirts of the Fire Nation and after much travel, he was thankful that the trip was at its twilight; only another day's trip until they fully arrived.

Dusk was now beginning to set, and he could tell that everyone, himself included, was ready to make camp for the night. With Yue beginning to enter into his eyesight, he observed everyone. Toph was staring with unseeing eyes at the darkening sky around them, hair wildly billowing in all directions, Momo perched on her shoulder. Since they had departed from the Eastern Air Temple, he had been consumed with thoughts of Toph's apology; that, and his experience gazing upon the true beauty that Azula presented. Aang felt part of him yearn to forgive Toph, but he wasn't ready yet. He was wary of her and the others still, waiting for a betrayal once more; the Gaang might easily, inevitably leave again, abandoning him.

Azula was sitting next to him, and recently, she had begun to slouch against him. Aang did nothing to prohibit her actions, instead choosing to peak glances at her out of the corner of his eye often, mesmerized by the image that she presented wearing Air Nomad garbs. She was clearly tired but too stubborn to voice her weariness. Samir had fallen asleep and her head, shockingly, laid on Azula's leg without any protest.

"Are you ready to camp?" He asked quietly.

Azula nodded her head, pleasantly scratching Aang's shoulder. "Yes, I believe so," she hummed. "I'm surprised that Appa hasn't just landed. We've been flying nonstop since dawn with only a few small breaks for the body's needs."

"It has taken me by surprise," he admitted, staring at his animal companion, his best friend. "He's been great. I think that since I healed him, he's grown stronger."

"That makes sense, actually. He was touched by the Avatar and brought back from death itself. There were bound to be changes."

"Combine that with the Avatar State, and he's definitely been… enhanced. I remember healing all of his old injuries, making everything perfect in his body."

"That's quite amazing. Have you thought of healing your own body?"

He stared at her, "You mean my scars?"

"The ones I gave you, yes. Couldn't you heal those, heal yourself as you did Appa?"

"It's a lot easier to heal other people. Healing yourself, no matter how small the wound, taxes you of energy. I don't know why."

"Only Waterbenders can heal, correct?"

"Yes, but I noticed that when I entered the Avatar State in the Spirit World after facing  _Dark_  and your father, all of my wounds healed instantly. Mastering my chakras and fully connecting with Raava must have augmented my healing capabilities in the Avatar State."

"I wonder if mastering my chakras augmented my own healing capabilities, but it sounds as if it heals only current wounds, not previously sustained ones."

"That would be my guess since I still have my scars."

"And the only way we could determine if my healing capabilities were augmented is if I'm injured."

"Let's not discuss this any longer," he murmured. "The thought of you hurt isn't a pleasant one."

Azula looked pleased by his words. "Very well. A change of topic, then?"

"Please."

"My father has the remaining Dai Li at his command. He might even be proficient in earthbending by now."

"I'm aware."

"We need to warn the Northern Water Tribe of an impending attack and decipher the location of the Air Spirit."

"I'll send a letter to the North to warm Arnook once we reach the Caldera." Aang closed his eyes, amusement spreading through him. "I forgot to ask Pathik for any ideas about Indra because someone distracted me."

"Who, me?" Azula said innocently, golden eyes glinting at him.

"Yes, you," he suddenly felt bold and aggressive, the memory of her beauty invoking something inside him; he leaned down and whispered in her ear. "I didn't mind how you distracted me."

She went very still for a moment, seeming shocked before suddenly looking up at him, staring into his eyes - gray vs golden! "I could distract you again. I'm sure that you wouldn't mind."

Aang swallowed thickly, imagining it. "You're right, I wouldn't be opposed to that," he tried to sound calm, but he knew based on the glow in her majestic eyes, that he wasn't successful.

"Good," her eyes roamed his face, a vulnerable expression crossing her features that only he could see. "You're the only person who I ever want to distract."

The words were soft, and they floated in the air. Aang's eyes widened and he stopped breathing. Was that an admission of affection? Perhaps, love? Feeling strengthened by her disclosure, he leaned his head against her own, closing his eyes. "You're the only person who I ever want to distract me."

"Ugh! What the fuck?" Toph suddenly and loudly yelled, her voice screeching against the flow of wind. "If I wasn't vomiting from being this high in the sky, I am now!" She turned towards them, pointing at them accusingly, "Just fuck already! You both clearly want to, and this tension that even I can feel needs to be – no, must be – released!" Toph finished her rant and huffed, glaring at them with milky, unseeing eyes.

He sprang back from Azula, putting space between them, feeling ashamed for some reason. Is that what he felt? Did he want her just because of her body, because of her beauty? No. No, he did love Azula; her body was a major plus, but before he had ever seen her nude, focused on her true beauty, he had felt that way. If anything, seeing her true beauty had enhanced his feelings to unsurpassed levels.

Azula seemed nonplussed by Toph's words and Aang's actions. "Thankfully, you chose to reprimand while Samir is sleeping, otherwise I might be offended and angered, but thank you for the suggestion, Toph. Perhaps, since you seem so keen to offer advice, I should offer my own. You yourself should get – oh, what did… Ty Lee always call it? That's right, laid. You yourself should get laid, Toph."

Toph blanched, face registering complete disgust. "You're insane. With Twinkletoes? No, thanks!" She laughed, somehow pointing at Aang even though she couldn't see at all – with her eyes or feet. "I'll leave all of that for you, Lightning Psycho. You seem to desire it."

Azula's eyes narrowed, "Whatever you seem to think that you're alluding to takes time."

"Just don't hand Twinkletoes off to me."

Aang frowned, feeling offended. "What's wrong with me?"

"I find Airbenders grating," her words were blunt, and the familiarity of it comforted Aang. "If I have to birth any, just kill me. Also, Earth and Air don't meet; there's a reason why the sky is separate from the ground."

"You're honest," he said with quiet amusement. "If it's any- "

Appa bellowed, the air screeching from his power and Aang whirled around.

"Stop it!" Samir's whiny voice reached his ears, but he didn't pay her any attention. Instead, he leaped onto Appa's head, eyes riveted on the balls of fire sailing towards them; they were far larger than the ones that he had dodged on his way through the Fire Nation's blockade when he was flying to Roku's Temple all of those years ago.

"Keep your head down," Azula said but he assumed that she spoke to Samir.

Aang gripped the reins, "Appa, are you ready?" In answer, Appa zoomed forward, roaring with strength.

Immediately, he knew that there were too many blazing toward them –  _it was Ba Sing Se all over again!_  He couldn't let that happen, he refused to! Last time, he had taken initiative too late, but not this time! He became one with the wind and jumped off of Appa's head, creating massive gusts of wind to deflect the incoming projectiles, blasting his own flames and lightning to obliterate the flaming boulders.

No matter how many he destroyed, just as many continued to appear in his vision, seeking to raze and destroy. Thinking quickly, he summoned tornadoes, sending them at the incoming projectiles.

"No!" Azula shouted and he spun around. She was shaking her head wildly, waving at him. "No! They will send them back at us!"

Aang understood and when he turned his head back, he panicked; she was right! The tornadoes had swallowed the fireballs but spit them back out to their source. He swung his arms around, forming a massive blade that swiped through all of the incoming, returned projectiles, and then lightning exploded from his fingertips, obliterating the remaining fireballs.

He narrowed his eyes, focusing through his airbending, but he didn't feel or see any other flaming boulders approaching. He quickly darted back onto Appa's head once assuring himself that it was safe. "It's all right, we're okay!" He called out, hopping into the saddle.

Toph was clenching the grips tightly; he was afraid that she would somehow rip it off, her grip was so tight. Her eyes were wide, and anxiety was slowly vacating her countenance, anger swiftly overwhelming her face.

Samir was as pale as the snow in the South Pole; she was clutched tightly to Azula's arm, eyes wide with fear. At the sight of her terrified expression, Aang felt immense guilt and remembrance; he could still remember when he had been met with the sight of what true war could beget, how cruel the winds of fate could be. Gyatso's skeleton had haunted him for a long time, and in some ways, he knew that he would never be able to purge that memory from his mind. Samir was much too young to be inflicted with the knowledge of the bloody conquest of war, of how death holds no favorites; it is uncaring for whom you care. She was too young to see him slaughter Kuei and company, but for whatever reason, she trusted him anyway, staring at him with wide, fear-filled eyes because she believed that he had all of the answers.

Aang wasn't sure if he deserved her trust.

Finally tearing his gaze from Samir, he looked at Azula, unsurprised to see that she was eerily calm, golden eyes assessing him and their surroundings, taking in everything.

Ozai.

"That must have been the Fire Sages," he said wearily, remembering the words from Zuko's letter, still feeling the vestiges of shock. "The Fire Sages are all Master Firebenders and only several Masters could accomplish a feat of that magnitude. Who else would try to harm us and be in a group with other Masters?"

"While that may be true, we can't eliminate any other possibilities." Azula pointed out; she didn't seem noticeably uncomfortable by how Samir's face had taken residence in her bosom, trying to hide from the world. "I will agree that it was probably them, or even more likely, my father. We both saw firsthand how powerful he has become in the Spirit World. And then there's Agni to worry about – it could have been him, too."

"Put us on the ground so I can smash 'em to bits!" Toph barked out, "They'll feel my wrath, trust me."

Aang ignored her for now. "I would reckon that it was Ozai and his followers, who include the Dai Li. Those were flaming boulders. Only an Earthbender could heave those up at us this high in the air, and even then, it would take a lot of them; the Dai Li fit the facts. Then there's Devi who, even easier, could have- " he stiffened as he felt the crackle of energy approach and saw Azula's eyes widen in front of him; her lips opened but Aang whirled around and dove off of Appa. He narrowly caught the bolt of lightning, enraged that someone – and from the strength of the lightning, how it nearly overwhelmed him, it was definitely Agni – tried to kill his best friend.

The lightning spasmed through his form and he raised his fingers, directing it into the heavens above but as he felt the lightning leave him, he was unable to do anything as a torrent of fire blazed towards Appa from the other side.

"Look out! APPA!" He cried out as the lightning finally fully left his body, trying to warn his friend, but he was too late as the wave of flames slammed into Appa's form, burning his friend and causing him to roar in pain, beginning to fall out of the sky –  _it was just like Ba Sing Se all over again!_  Feeling something twist inside him, Aang screamed in rage, dashing towards his best friend after making sure that no more attacks would appear.

"Fuck!" Toph cried out as she almost fell out of the saddle, Appa beginning to descend rapidly – too rapidly. "Twinkletoes, hurry!"

He tried to soothe him. "It's all right, bud, okay? I'll heal you. You're going to be fine," he was just mightily relieved that Appa hadn't been killed… just as last time.

"Is he all right? How bad is it?" Azula yelled out and Aang glanced upward for a moment, feeling his anger compress at the sight of Samir's wide and tear-welling gray eyes.

"It's not good, but thankfully, not as bad as Ba Sing Se," he yelled back in relief. Appa's side was scorched and burns littered the once-pristine white-colored fur; many cracks had appeared in Appa's side and blood was oozing out slowly.

"Twinkletoes, we need to land!" Toph exclaimed, gripping the saddle. "Then we can all rest while you heal Appa!"

"She's right, Aang!" Azula hollered, "Don't try anything while he's in the air. Just safely get us and Appa to the ground – not while falling out of the sky as we're currently doing!"

Aang didn't think that they had a choice. They were right: they did need to stop. He had to heal Appa before they could fly any further.

Appa blazed towards a thick forest and Aang quickly summoned small gusts of wind to ease the landing, using his airbending to slow Appa down; with a quick peek to look at his surroundings, Aang was grateful. His friend landed in a small clearing that was adjacent to a large lake with trees hiding them from any view. The area was almost like an enormous cave; the stone had been moved away and the rock created a perfect, inconspicuous, resting place.

Appa rumbled in pain and Aang immediately began healing him, drawing water from the lake, the blue glow highlighting his features with serious intent. He dimly noticed that Azula, Samir, and Toph hopped off Appa and begin to create a camp. For several minutes, he focused his water-coated hands on Appa's side and when he opened his eyes, all of the burns and cracks were healed. There were patches that had no fur and Aang knew that Appa would have to grow his fur back, but other than that, he had successfully saved his friend from serious infections and wounds.

"You're okay, bud," he brushed his fingers against Appa's forehead and then he turned around, witnessing the three girls around the fire. He stepped towards them and then froze; he could feel the wind currents around the trees in the forest change, shifting and swirling – it felt like animals hopping from tree-to-tree.

Aang looked into the forest, squinting his eyes, stretching his senses to see if it was an animal or something – someone – else.

"Shit!" Toph suddenly jumped up, staring down at the ground, whipping her head towards him. "It's the Dai Li; we're surrounded underneath!" Just as she finished, Aang saw the familiar forms of Dai Li agents jump off branches of trees and land before him, and even more agents popped out of the ground near the girls.

He clenched his fists, glaring at the dozens of agents that had somehow tracked them. "What do you want? Be warned: I will not hold back."

They didn't respond; as if an unspoken signal was given, all of the Dai Li attacked at once. Aang blocked and countered, arms blurring together as he smacked his attackers away; he felt and heard the flashes of fire behind him – the girls were holding them off.

"Unless you want the small girl to die painfully, you and Princess Azula must come with us peacefully." One of the Dai Li agents narrowly avoided Aang's boulder, "Be merciful, Avatar Aang."

"You speak of peace yet threaten a girl who I am fond of. What hypocrites you are!" He spun around, crouching low as his hands twirled together, and sprang forward. A colossal display of his power over airbending blasted into the Dai Li; they were all tossed into the forest, death more than likely claiming them.

Although he knew that he had mastered his chakras, accepting the truth that he had probably killed more than thousands of people and that killing was sometimes necessary, Aang was still surprised that he didn't feel the usual guilt that accompanied such an action.

Toph smashed a Dai Li agent into the lake and she stiffened. "It's the Loser Lord!"

Alarm spread through Aang at her words and then the echo of clapping hands reached his ears. At the sound, the Dai Li stopped attacking and everyone froze, turning towards the source.

Ozai stepped out of the shadows of the trees, hands falling to his sides, a triumphant gleam in his wicked golden eyes. "Bravo, Avatar," the self-declared Phoenix King stepped closer and all of the remaining Dai Li approached to stand by his side. Aang didn't try anything, wary of a potential ploy to force him and the others to drop their guards – and he was thankful that Azula, Toph, and Samir didn't do anything, too. "You are now truly a man instead of a child, a god above any in creation, but even gods must fall. And what falls is dead, which you soon will be. These Children of Earth belong to me and Vaatu, now – and so do many of your former disciples." Ozai's hand twitched and well over a dozen men stepped into the light; the Fire Sages stared back at Aang odiously. "Don't you see, Avatar? I am who is in charge here. I injured your Sky Bison and have thus tracked you here."

Aang clenched his fists, ignoring the Fire Sages and the air swarmed around him, reacting to his anger. "You are who burned Appa?"

"Of course. How else would I be able to track you? When I saw that Agni's lightning bolt distracted you, I unleashed my own fireblast into your precious Sky Bison."

"You will regret that," he promised, thinking furiously on how he could keep Azula, Samir, and Toph alive. He knew that Vaatu was somewhere close; he could feel him near, the sizzling against his own senses. Based on Ozai's own words, the corrupted Agni was close, as well, and that meant that the corrupted Devi was, too. Then there were the Dai Li and Fire Sages; this situation was poor, to say the least.

Ozai's eyes darted to Azula, "My daughter, you were given no choice, were you? Either spread your legs for the Avatar, or death. Did you forget the basic teachings? Death before dishonor!"

"I have forgotten nothing," she sounded calm, even bored but Aang saw that she was tense, moving Samir behind her. "I remember everything that you did to me, how you forced me to kill your enemies and almost my own brother. I have learned much since the Great War, more than you ever will. I have reached enlightenment."

Ozai bristled but then he held out his hand. "All can be forgiven, Azula, if you but kneel at my feet and join me. All of the power in the world will be yours; we will be together once again."

"No, father. You hold no power, only weakness and lunacy. I am free to make my own choices, now. I will never kneel before you again. My allegiance lies with the Avatar for he is the one with whom the power lies; he is beyond you!"

Ozai's face twisted into something dark, and his eyes burned like Sozin's Comet, each pulsing with power. "So be it; you were always a disappointment anyway, just as your brother was. I never loved you."

"I know."

Before Aang could even react, several things then happened all at once. The Dai Li and the Fire Sages all attacked him in a rush, and Vaatu appeared out of the forest and merged with Ozai, eyes blazing with the amount of power they had gained. Rock gloves hauled Aang's unprepared form to the ground, holding his arms back. The Fire Sages all shot fire at him but Aang used his mouth to blow out the flames, but he knew that he couldn't fend off the fire attacks for long.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Azula held Samir behind her, feeling the girl tremble but she stared challengingly at her father, unimpressed with the shaking ground beneath his feet, how it cracked ominously. She spared a glance at Aang and while she was concerned that he would be overwhelmed, she knew that he would be okay. Toph stood next to her, crouched in preparation.

Her father stared at her, the glowing eyes of Vaatu hard to look at.  **"You will suffer for your transgressions with the pouring of your blood, whore. You will watch those for whom you care die by my hand!"**

She glimpsed the fiery blast of fire explode from his fist towards them, but before she could bat it aside, a wall of earth rose, blocking the attack. Toph snarled next to her, "As Twinkletoes said, he's going to regret that." Azula watched with surprised eyes as Toph suddenly burst through the wall that she had erected. "You're going to have to do better than that, Loser Lord!"

" **The blind girl,"**  her father hissed and based on the callous expression on his face, Azula knew that sooner or later, she had to get Samir out of the area; she had heard stories of her father's… fondness for young girls.

"No, don't!" Azula cried out as Toph leaped toward her father; feet left the ground and her father grinned viciously. Somehow, her father knew that when Toph's feet were disconnected from the ground, she became vulnerable, weak.

A brilliant wave of fire was shot and Azula leaned to the side to immediately shoot her own blast to try to counteract her father's, but she knew that nothing good would happen.

"Toph!" Samir cried out and Azula felt the change in the air as a harsh, yet nothing-compared-to-Aang's-power breeze slammed into the two combined fire blasts, trimming off the potential for death, but it wasn't enough to snuff either out. The fire exploded into Toph and she went careening into the cave.

"Get in the cave! Go help her!" Azula hissed at Samir, pushing her along. "Make sure she's okay. If someone other than Aang or I come in there, scream your head off." Appa followed after Samir and Azula felt grateful.

" **The tales of the blind one's grandeur were highly unfounded; that was simple,"**  her father glared at her, deep disgust and hatred carved into his face. **"You mustn't fret, whore. You are still special to me. That is why I will kill you last. Right before your death, you will watch as I slay the Avatar for whom you spread your legs. Then it will be mine; it will all be mine. No one will be anything but servants, slaves, and weapons who answer only to me."**

Azula drew herself up, sapphire flames glowing in her palms. "I used to live in fear of you ever since I can remember, but now it is you who should fear me. This isn't the Spirit World where I am vulnerable; this is the Mortal Realm. I am fully-powered here."

" **There is nothing to fear from you. I am always fully-powered, regardless!"** Her father shot fire at her and Azula dashed forward, sidestepping the incoming blast, throwing her own fire towards him.  **"Now, whore, you will suffer for your betrayal."**

XxXxXxXxXxX

The Dai Li doubled their efforts to subdue him and Aang strained, trying to fight off their hold all while the Fire Sages continued to blast fireballs at him, stomping closer; he was beginning to feel the exhaustion – being limited to using his mouth to snuff out the flames was more than cumbersome. The good thing, though, was that the Dai Li were tiring, as well; he could see the sweat pouring down their foreheads. He didn't know how much longer he could keep up his defense.

"Momo," he called out, glimpsing his Winged-Lemur. "Help me!"

Momo squawked and then landed on one of the Dai Li agent's shoulders and sunk his teeth into the man's ear and then to Aang's shock, tore it off. The Dai Li stumbled back in a cry of pain and punched Momo off of his shoulder.

Aang's eyes grew wide with anger; he raised his head high and then smashed it into the ground, ignoring the ache it caused. The earth shook and a pillar of stone rose to his right, catching several Dai Li and Fire Sages by surprise.

He broke free and twirled his body around, gusts of wind lashing out and keeping any projectiles from connecting as he landed on his feet. Aang then shot fire at them all, spinning out of the way from more rock gloves and the Fire Sages returned fire. Aang drew water from the lake and it twisted around his body and he drew it into a whip, slashing at the Fire Sages who went flying back, landing in a heap of limbs.

Rising into the air, he roared, causing a large orb of air to explode from his body, sweeping away all of the rock gloves. Glaring down at the Dai Li, Aang dove back down into the ground and a massive shockwave of both air and fire leveled the Dai Li and the recovered Fire Sages, smashing them into one another, injuring several.

Several of the Dai Li shoved the Fire Sages away to get back to their feet, tossing them near the lake in a wave of earth; they all glared at him heatedly. In response, Aang swept his arms behind him and the air howled, following his movements; then he swung his arms together, clapping his hands. A mighty rupture of air exploded from the contact and slammed into the Dai Li, and they all released throaty whimpers, exhales of breath. Aang felt sorrow as he watched them all crumble to the ground, clawing at their chests; his attack had crushed their lungs.

Fire blazed behind him and he narrowly jumped out of the way as the Fire Sages convened, fire ghosting over their fingers.

His gray eyes connected with the dozen firebending Masters. "Why do you betray me? I don't understand! You choose to betray your ideals all for him?" Below the surface, Aang could feel anger beyond his own; all of the Fire Avatars felt just as furious as he did.

"We will become loyal to the new Avatar, the true Avatar!" The foremost Fire Sage shouted, "Once Phoenix King Ozai and the mighty Vaatu are fully, forever fused together, a new era will arise!"

"Have I failed you that much? An era of evil is what will arise!" Aang cried out in outrage and disbelief. "Vaatu has turned your hearts, you fools! I can do nothing to help you if you don't let me."

"Help us? Vaatu gifted us with truth, unlike you! The only way you will help us is to die, Avatar Aang. Your existence has become redundant since the mighty Vaatu's awakening. He will herald this world beyond anything that you or your past lives ever did!"

Aang recognized the truth in their words and the sad conclusion was cemented in his mind; they were too far gone. "You have forsaken your titles, everything that had made you my followers to follow the one who seeks my destruction. You may believe that history will remember you fondly, but I guarantee that all you will be remembered as are traitors."

"No, it is you who will be remembered as a traitor, Avatar Aang!"

The Fire Sages all leaped forward, fire blazing from their fists in an attempt to destroy him.

Aang defended himself with a shield of magnificent fire, gritting his teeth as he felt the Sages' flames slam into his shield. Within moments, he suddenly vanished into the ground and reappeared behind the Fire Sages. "That's enough," he called out. "You have left me no choice."

The Fire Sages all whirled towards him, breathing deeply, and then they unleashed everything that they could summon to destroy him.

He didn't do anything as the flames blazed at him, but when he glimpsed the victorious shine in their golden eyes, he caught the flames and rotated them around his body; he added his own flames until a massive globe of pure fire spun around his body, the heat all-encompassing. Aang looked at the Fire Sages and while he felt his resolve weaken when their golden eyes were terrified, he remembered the truth; he condensed the massive globe of fire until it fit into his hands and then he shoved his arms outward.

The fire that rivaled the flames that he had summoned under Sozin's Comet roared towards the Fire Sages, and he watched solemnly as they couldn't do anything; the flames turned their bodies to ash instantly, the ground surrounding them smoking.

" **You will regret your treachery, whore!"** The merged Vaatu and Ozai bellowed and the earth shook around Aang; he looked at them, going to help.  **"You will learn the true lessons that I bestow!"**

Aang felt lightning crackle in his hands and just as he was about to unleash it into the unsuspecting Ozai, the ground disappeared from beneath his feet and he fell into a hole. The lightning erupted from his fingers and stone and dirt and soil exploded into his face, the sound ringing in his ears painfully. After gathering his bearings, he blasted out of the hole and landed next to it; a flash of fire suddenly landed in front of him and a boulder slammed into his back.

It was only his airbending reflexes that saved him from having his face scorched; he righted himself and spun around, unsurprised to see both corrupted forms of Agni and Devi staring at him disdainfully. Aang glanced quickly towards Azula and was relieved that she seemed to be admirably holding her own against her father, but it was noticeable that the merged Ozai and Vaatu was leading the fight.

"We meet again, Avatar, but this time, the outcome will be different." Agni's two heads stared at him, eyes glowing deep and dark purple. "Our father will become the new Avatar."

"And your mother?" Aang challenged, subtly twisting into a bending stance. "What about Raava?"

"She no longer matters," Devi responded while Agni dove forward. Aang immediately grabbed water from the lake and slashed Agni, but the water evaporated on contact with his flames. He gasped as his feet became trapped by the earth, Devi nowhere to be seen.

"Stop this!" He cried out, "Let me help you, both of you!"

"You will be the one who soon needs help, Avatar!" Agni roared and Aang's eyes almost slammed shut at the terrible brightness. Through dim eyes, he saw Agni rear back and then opened both of his mouths; sun-like fire spewed from lips and Aang used his own air and fire to narrowly keep himself from being scorched to the bone –  _the earth wasn't responding to him!_  The heat was unbearable and Aang grit his teeth, feeling his skin begin to blister –  _and it was too much!_

He began to be overwhelmed and just when he could no longer hold on, Devi appeared out of the earth and grabbed his arms. "Father will reward me greatly for your death, Avatar! Feel the strength of my essence!" Aang staggered as both Agni and Devi tried to destroy him and after a moment, he felt the energy of the Avatar State begin to fill him. "Thank you for your cooperation in securing your permanent death, Avatar! With you dying in the Avatar State, father will never need to worry about you again!"

All of the power swiftly failed him at Devi's words and Aang understood: Vaatu had revealed the truth of the Avatar's immortality. "I'm not dying yet!" He screamed and the water in the lake exploded, rushing towards him in a roaring tsunami. The ample amount of water smashed into Agni, who stumbled back, his flames flickering and Aang blew through his mouth, sending the unsuspecting Fire Spirit back even further.

"No!" Devi screeched and Aang breathed fire into her earth-face until she let go of his arms. He then levitated into the air, recognizing that his advantage was from air and water; he couldn't use their elements at them. Aang shot water tendrils at Agni, but they weren't effective, and when he shot air at Devi, it didn't work either.

Agni darted up into the air, torrents of flames exploding out of his fire-limbs and Aang swiftly twirled away, tornadoes of air forming in his wake. He grunted when Devi threw a boulder at him and it almost caused him to fall, but he remained mobile.

How was he to defeat them?

"Come, Avatar, make our job easier." Agni dashed at him; his two heads were pinched with malignant intent. Aang rocketed towards the Fire Spirit, finally believing that he had a way to defeat them: divide and conquer.

He gathered as much as he could and then he directed all of it at Agni, and the hurricane-force gale smashed into the Fire Spirit, causing him to scream in pain as his flames thrashed ominously and some were almost snuffed out. Aang didn't let up; he screamed, and the air condensed into his palm, and then he unleashed a vortex into Agni. The Fire Spirit fell from the sky with a bellow of agony and crashed into the ground; he didn't get up.

Aang looked down at Devi and remembered how effective his lightning strike had been in the Spirit World; the lightning sparked across his fingers and he saw her purple orbs widen before he shot the attack at her. She vanished into the earth and the lightning exploded into the earth, but Devi was gone. Suddenly, he felt the energy surge behind him but was unable to defend himself against the beam of spirit energy.

The darkness of the energy was intense and utterly painful, and he fell from heavens, glimpsing Vaatu's floating form dashing back into Ozai before he hit the ground hard. Immediately, before he could stand, the earth swallowed him whole and no light existed. Devi was everywhere, her screeching cackle unholy to his ears and Aang struggled mightily, curling his fingers into the soil, but it wouldn't respond. Devi was the Earth Spirit and Aang, for all of his power without the Avatar State, couldn't win against the Earth itself.

He was trapped and while he could draw the water out of the soil, he knew that wouldn't do anything except perhaps make Devi angrier. There was hardly any air in the earth, and he couldn't create any because Devi wouldn't allow him to try earthbending; only firebending was left. Aang breathed harshly, drawing his inner flame and opened his lips as Agni had done earlier. The fire spewed in torrents and the soil and dirt blackened. Devi shrieked but Aang continued and then he channeled lightning through his curled hands, scorching lines of power sizzling through the earth like a careless butcher.

Devi roared in pain and the earth around him loosened; he wrenched his arms outward and exploded out of the prison, leaving a crater in the ground. Aang floated in the air, disconnecting himself from the earth and stared at Devi as she formed out of the remnants of his prison. Her purple-infected eyes were livid, and her green-colored lips were pulled back in a heavy snarl.

"It always ends in a fight," he murmured and saw no other option: he fired more lightning at her, destroying all of the boulders that she threw at him. He then saw the realization in her expression as she leaped at the still-fallen Agni; she opened a hole in the ground before Aang could stop her and they both disappeared.

He cursed silently and landed on the ground, the vibrations of the fight between Azula and Ozai –  _Azula!_

Aang whirled around and saw Azula slammed in the stomach by a large rock, falling to the ground in a heap; she quickly, but unsteadily climbed back to her feet.

The merged form of Ozai and Vaatu's arms wound in a very familiar motion.  **"I lied earlier, whore; your death is upon you, now!"**

Terribly panic swept through him and Aang dashed forward, using his airbending, flying faster than he had ever thought possible; the wind cut into his face painfully as he tried to desperately stop Ozai and save Azula, but he knew the truth.

He was going to be too late to stop it.

Before his sudden tear-filled eyes, a massive bolt of lightning struck Azula in the chest, spasming through her body. Her beautiful golden eyes were wracked with pain and expiry as she went flying into the cave with a large thud.

"NO!" Samir screamed from inside the cave and then all was silent.

Aang stared at the spot where Azula was without comprehending it, but when he finally did, he slowly turned to Ozai, and when he glimpsed the small smile across the man's lips, something inside him broke.

A swift and terrible rage flooded through his body, the likes of which he had only experienced two other times: when Appa had been taken from him. He noticed that he began to shake and felt the bitter tears spill down his face in globs of misery. Images flowed through his mind in a blur, memories of Azula, the one woman who he loved, the woman who he wanted to be his wife, his Mother of the Air Nomads. And now she was gone.

His fists clenched painfully, his nails drawing blood, but he didn't care. There was only one thing that he now cared about: avenging Azula. Aang dimly noticed that the ground through the entire forest began to shake, that the water in the lake began to lurch and sway, cowering before Aang's rage. He felt the power of the Avatar State sweep through him and he hated himself even more; he could have saved Azula if he had acted swiftly and mercilessly.

Ozai's smile faded and Aang's eyes glowed pure white with fathomless power.  **"OZAI!"**  The Avatar roared and blurred forward, smashing into his enemy with enough force to break bones. They flew into the forest and he held Ozai's shaking form down, trees breaking from their bodies, but it wasn't enough! No, the Avatar was enraged; he wanted to watch the subtle change in Ozai's eyes as life was extinguished, watch as Vaatu was put back into the Tree of Time or even thrown into the Void of Eternity. They would suffer; they would know true pain! The mercy that he had shown Ozai less than a decade ago was a terrible mistake, one above any other – it was a shame above all shames! The mistake would soon be rectified and Azula would be avenged!

" **Avatar!"** Ozai screamed and fire burst through his lips but the Avatar blew it out with airbending, snapping Ozai's head back from the force. He gripped Ozai's neck tightly, his glowing white arrows a beacon to his eyes as he smashed his other fist into Vaatu's vessel; blood splattered his face, but it wasn't enough! The Avatar released Ozai, watching as the monster tumbled to the ground, viciously colliding with the protruding boulders until he stopped, blood pooling out of several wounds.

Bursting with primordial power, the Avatar glared down at Ozai, tears streaming out of his white orbs.  **"You killed her; you will suffer, Ozai, son of Azulon, vessel of Vaatu. Both of you will suffer!"**  The Avatar slashed his arm downward and the air followed his movements, howling with vicious intent, slicing Ozai's arm off.

Ozai screamed in agony, a mixture of spittle and blood exploding from his lips and blood pooled beneath the Avatar as he stepped closer, prepared to teleport them all to the Spirit World.

" **Yes, I did!"**  The man stumbled to his feet, blood dripping from his decapitated shoulder and he brought his flaming hand to it, cauterizing the wound. Ozai shook his head like a rabid beast, screams of pain echoing as he glared back at the Avatar.  **"She was a traitor! She was a whore - your whore! I would do it- "**  he was cut off as the Avatar clenched his fist. A sphere of air wrapped around Ozai's mouth and he fell to his knees, bloodied skin stretched thin as he desperately tried to breathe. Firebenders relied on their breath for producing their flame and now, Ozai couldn't even summon a spark to defend himself.

"AANG!" Toph screamed from behind him and the Avatar spun around, still keeping Ozai in the hold. "She's still alive – Azula's alive! Her heart is still beating! You can heal her!"

 **"Watch him!"**  The Avatar State left and Aang returned, releasing Ozai – who promptly gasped for much-needed air. "Make sure that Ozai and Vaatu don't escape. Use force and do whatever you must; I need them both! Thank you, Toph," he blurred away, blazing through the forest back to the cave in mere moments.

When he arrived, Azula was still breathing but it was slow and pitiful, on the verge of expiring; tears welled in Aang's gray eyes as he realized that she still lived –  _she was alive!_

"No," Samir loomed over Azula's body, sobbing violently. "Wake up, mommy, please!" Despair was carved into her face as thick tears spilled down her face and Aang gently pulled her into his arms, placing her near Appa and Momo.

"It's going to be okay, all right? Azula will be fine, Samir. I'm going to heal her." His words had no effect on Samir's hysterical form, so he placed his thumb on her shaking and sweaty forehead, inducing slumber to befall her. "I'm sorry, but I can't be distracted. Keep watch, guys," he whispered frantically to Appa and Momo and returned to Azula.

Aang looked down at the wound; it was bad, very bad. It was a miracle that Azula was still even alive and he reckoned that mastering her chakras had augmented her healing capabilities as they had been discussing earlier. The lightning had nicked her heart and ravaged through her body; she would bleed out if he didn't immediately heal the gash and her wounds.

He focused and knelt beside her, drawing her into his lap, his hands covered with glowing water. He focused on the veins, capillaries, and then the heart chambers; he healed the burns of the lightning as best as he could, but she would have two deep scars as he himself did, entry and exit – maybe they would heal in time. Azula's face was pale, showing intense pain in slumber and he encouraged her blood to slow down and stay in her nicked heart as he slowly healed it.

After much effort, Azula finally became stabilized and Aang's head sunk, his hands softly stroking her hair, grief beginning to hit him at once. He had almost lost her, and he hadn't told her the truth about the depths of his love! Ozai almost took her from him!

"AANG!" Toph appeared in the cave and dread filled him when he glimpsed the burns on her face and the deeply-singed clothing. And what was worst, she was alone; she didn't have Ozai with her.

The knowledge of that news filled him with alarm, with panic. "Where is he? What happened?" His breathing became heavy and rapid; Ozai was still out there, still able to harm the ones for whom he cared, still harm Azula, even Samir!

"After you left, I had the Loser Lord detained in the earth but then he began to shake. It felt weird; then intense energy blanketed over me and I was blasted back by some beam of sorts, which I think belonged to you-know-who. That fuckin' thing hurt more than anything I've felt." Toph swallowed as she sat across from him, failure and shame on her face. "The next thing I know, Ozai disappeared, his arm included."

" _Dark's_  beam burned you?"

"No, these are from when the Loser Lord hit me earlier. Thanks to Samir and… Azula, I wasn't killed."

"Sorry, I didn't notice earlier," he gestured for her to sit next to him. "Here, let me heal you." She slowly moved closer and Aang, while keeping Azula unconscious body safe in his lap, drew water back onto his hands; he began to heal the burns across her body. "I can't do anything for your clothes."

"That doesn't matter. …I'm sorry that I failed you, that I couldn't help. How could I have been so foolish?"

"Next time you'll know better."

"You think that there will be a next time?"

"Absolutely. We will all be ready for it. This was an ambush, plain and simple."

"What do you want to do? How's… Azula?"

"While I healed what I could, she's still in critical condition."

"Could she still die?"

"If she does, I won't let her."

Toph smiled sadly, "Having the Avatar love you has its perks, I see. Was it lightning? Was that what the Loser Lord struck her with? I woke up to Samir screaming and after regaining my bearings, I felt Azula's barely-alive body, raw energy spiking through. That's why she is still in critical conditions, isn't it? Because of the lightning?"

"Yes. Lightning injuries are immensely complicated."

"You know that better than most."

"Yes," he finally pulled his hands away. "You're all healed."

"Thank you, Aang."

He glanced at Samir's still-asleep form on Appa's tail. "You're welcome. I don't want to stay here but I'm afraid to move Azula, so I'll need to stay here with her. I need protection in case Ozai and  _Dark_  and any other comes to attack with us grounded, so Samir, Appa, Momo will stay with me here as I watch her."

"What about me? Where will I go?"

"To the Fire Nation, to the Caldera to inform Zuko and the others what has transpired."

"Wouldn't it be safer for Samir if she comes with me?"

"Who can defend her better, you or me? With whom is her best chance of surviving an attack?"

"Good point. Anything else?"

Aang felt the panic and anger inside him and it coalesced into his words. "I want them here, all of them. I don't care if Zuko can't leave the Palace of if the Noble Houses are paranoid; tell him to name a regent. I want all of them here, with me and Azula. Ozai knows our location and could bring reinforcements at any time."

"It's over a day's journey and Appa is staying here with you."

"Then you must act swiftly, Toph."

Toph stood up, face pulled in a tight grimace. "Okay," she sighed. "I'm sorry that I wasn't much of an ally during the fight, Aang. I acted like a rash fool."

"We all learn from our mistakes. I know that I've definitely learned from mine where it concerns Ozai."

She didn't respond but smiled sadly and then inhaled deeply, dashing out of the cave, creating giant feet of earth so that she could run faster. The sounds of her departure diminished in the darkness of night, and all was silent.

The weight of Azula in his lap was heavier than the heavens themselves; he had failed her, but never again. The image of the lightning striking her chest, the spasms of energy arching through her body flooded his mind and more tears welled in his eyes. How close he had been to losing her, but he now had a second chance, and no longer would he indulge in his Airbender tendencies; never again with her.

He picked Azula up gently and laid her next to Samir on Appa's tail. "I'll be back. I'm not going anywhere, I promise." Aang began to create a fire inside the cave, wary of being out in the open in case of another attack. He needed to make sure that nobody found them, save Toph and the rest of the Gaang because right now, everyone was the enemy; he was willing to take no chances. "Watch them," he ordered and Appa grumbled in compliance and Momo chirped solemnly.

Aang stepped out of the cave and noticed with a growing anger that the bodies of all the Dai Li and Fire Sages were gone - Just like Ozai and Vaatu! Just like his people! Just like Azula almost had been! Night had fallen and Yue shined brightly down on him; he stared up at her and she was grim.

" _Hello, Avatar Aang. I am sorry for the actions that you witnessed."_

"You had nothing to do with it, Moon Spirit," he tried to smile but he knew that it was much more of a grimace. "Did you see what happened, where Ozai and Vaatu went?"

" _No. Vaatu is much more powerful than I am; my strength is frail in comparison. Forgive me, but I cannot help you, Avatar Aang."_

He nodded sadly, "There's nothing to forgive, Yue," he sighed and looked away, focusing back on his task; he used his earthbending to make a small trench that created a path for water to run into the cave. Then, Aang raised his arms and walls of strong stone rose from the ground, rising until it was all tall as the trees, sealing the cave shut. He lastly created a roof with small cracks, letting the smoke from the fire out into the open, not wanting him or the others to suffocate in the cave.

"AANG!" Samir's voice screamed, "Aang, help! It's mommy!"

A primal fear swept through him and Aang burst into the cave, smashing through the wall that he had just created, unconcerned for anything and anyone save for Azula and Samir.

Azula's body was shaking and he realized that she was having a seizure.

He swiftly pulled water out of the small trench and jumped in front of Samir, blocking her from the traumatic sight. "She's going to be okay Samir, okay? I'll make sure of it, I swear." When the girl tearfully nodded, Aang turned around and kneeled, placing his water-coated hands on to Azula's chest, where the lightning had struck her; it was a heart attack.

"Please help her," she whispered and fell back against Appa, crying softly.

Aang wanted to ease her emotional distress but he needed to focus on Azula; he began to relieve the heart's electrical currents until it became normal; he noticed that her breathing was abnormal, so he journeyed deep into Azula's lungs, healing the deep scarring inside that he had missed the first time. She stabilized once more and he then worked on the scar on her chest and back, where the lightning exited her body, cooling the inflamed areas.

After he finished healing, he leaned back against Appa in exhaustion, Samir next to him; the girl had been quiet the entire time, much too quiet – especially for such a hyper and curious child.

"Are you all right?" He asked, wincing as the words left his lips, regretting it; she was definitely not all right. After a moment, Samir shook her head, brown hair tumbling over her face, hiding her tears. Aang pulled her closer and rubbed his hand down her tense back. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, "that you had to witness all of this. I failed you both, didn't I?"

Samir sniffed into his chest but didn't say anything for several minutes. He continued to rub circles into her back and eventually, the girl spoke. "First, it wa- was Toph and then- then mo- …what if… she di- dies?"

Aang closed his eyes slowly, feeling his true age more than ever. "You were in the cave with Toph, weren't you? You don't need to worry, Samir. Toph is okay and Azula will be fine; she is strong, the strongest person who I know. She is not going to die, I promise."

"But what if she does? What if I can't… can't tell her?"

"Even if she does, which she's not, I would travel to the Gardens of the Dead and bring her back. I refuse to let her die," he squeezed her tighter, hoping to comfort her as much as he could. "What are you afraid that you won't be able to tell Azula? You can tell me, okay? What is it?" He asked gently, not wanting to push the girl too hard, but he needed to know the answer if he was going to help her.

Samir swallowed against his chest. "That she's my mommy," the words were barely audible, but he heard them and felt overwhelmed by the context behind them.

"I swear to you on the Four Nations that you will be able to tell her, Samir. You have a family now, and nobody will ever take that from you."

"Really?" Samir looked up at him, her swollen gray eyes filled with more tears from behind the strands of hair. "I have a real family, now?"

Aang gently brushed the hair out of her face. "Yes, you do. In fact, to be honest, I kind of see you as my own daughter. You remind me of myself when I was your age and you even look like me – and you even remind me somewhat of Azula."

Samir sniffed and looked completely awestruck and overwhelmed before she ducked her head back down to his chest. "Really? You won't… leave… me?"

A surge of protectiveness gripped him, and he squeezed her more firmly. "Not if I can help it, Samir. I'll be here for you whenever you need me."

He felt tears soak through his doublet. "Can I call you daddy?" Her voice was muffled but he heard her clearly thanks to his airbending.

Aang blinked and he could have sworn he saw Gyatso appear on the other side of the fire for a moment. "If you want to; it's your decision, Samir," he smiled and pulled her in tighter.

Samir pulled back after a moment and her gray eyes snared his own. "Okay… daddy!" She threw her tiny arms up around his neck and hugged him tightly, squeezing as tightly as she could. Aang laughed and hugged her back as she chanted 'daddy' over and over again, pressing sloppy kisses to his cheek; she then nestled her face into his neck, exhaustion poisoning her limbs. "Mommy said that you would like to be my daddy."

He quickly recovered from his shock. "Did she? When?"

"At the Temple, daddy. I asked her and she said that you would be happy."

"Samir, I am happy," he whispered, gently rubbing soothing circles into her back, and continued to hold her as her breathing evened out, sleep claiming her; Aang didn't need to force it this time. Appa growled and Aang looked at his best friend. "Yeah, I know… It does feel good to be part of a family again," he placed the sleeping Samir on Appa's tail and checked on Azula; she was still stabilized, and he laid himself between the two girls, vowing to protect them. Momo curled up on his head and Aang knew that he wasn't going to sleep until Toph returned with the others, but for the first time since his awakening, part of him felt content; Azula would be okay and he would tell her how much he loved her and Samir adored him.

While the situation was more than dire, he knew that it would end in balance being restored, as it was supposed to.

XxXxXxXxXxX

The Royal Gardens were peaceful and Zuko felt it in the air; they all enjoyed the distance from the Palace, however small it may be. Turtle Ducks squawked in the pond and he could hear brief glimpses of his mother and Katara's conversation as they dropped small chunks of bread into the wall, an occasional laugh escaping either's lips.

"You know, nephew," his uncle nudged his elbow against his own and winked at him from where they sat behind the women, leaning against the large tree in the shade. "Lady Katara would make an excellent Fire Lady, methinks."

Zuko failed to suppress a low groan. "For the last time, uncle, I am not ready for marriage. If I were, I would have been married by now. The Nobles have been throwing their daughters and sisters at me as if I were a ravenous Dragon. It's ridiculous and tiresome, so would you please refrain from speaking of the subject."

"I'm getting older," his uncle sighed dramatically. "You shouldn't condemn an old man for desiring grandnephews and grandnieces."

"Grandchildren," he corrected quietly. "If or when I have kids, you will be their grandfather."

His uncle blinked; pure shock was expressed in his golden eyes. "But what about your… father, Zuko? I am only- "

Zuko placed a hand on his uncle's shoulder, squeezing not unkindly. "Ozai lost that privilege and title when he gave me this," he gestured towards his scar. "It may have taken me a long time to see it, but it's true, nonetheless. Whilst he may have sired me, you have been my father; you were there for me when no one else was."

His uncle nodded his head silently and tears began to drip down his cheeks and before Zuko could react, he was yanked into a fierce hug; he gripped his uncle back, silently thanking him for everything.

"I may have lost Lu Ten, but I've always had another son," his uncle whispered. "You have always been close to my heart; your children will be, too."

Zuko felt tears drip onto his shoulder and begin to soak through; he was unashamed to admit that his one good eye slowly began to well with tears as the echo of his uncle's words spread through him, the realization that he had had a good life.

When he was younger, he had had a loving mother, uncle, cousin, sister before Ozai corrupted her, grandfather, and there was always food to satisfy his hunger. He was Prince of a royal and ancient family, an heir to Sozin's legacy and power; he was borne a male instead of female and had all of the perks that went with it. Most of that had been taken away during his banishment, and Zuko had bellowed towards the heavens many times, cursing the spirits because he was certain that they all hated him more than anyone alive.

But how wrong he was!

Now, as a learned adult and man, he was tremendously grateful that he was banished by his father, scar and all. Because of the journey, he had been forced to mature and realize many things about the world, about himself, and about his father; the Fire Nation wasn't spreading glory to the other nations but death itself with fire and weapons of war as its tools.

For over three years, he had had a loyal crew, a good crew who were loyal to him in spite of his hostility and vicious treatment towards them. During those times, his uncle, just as he had always been, was wise beyond Wan Shi Tong himself, showing a patience that he knew was obvious to the crew and everyone who they encountered. All of the things that he had experienced shaped him into the man who he would become, the boy who exiled himself from the Fire Nation by personal choice, prepared for death at the hands of the Avatar and company.

The peasant families through the entire Four Nations had it much worse than he ever had. Zuko was of the Fire Royal Bloodline, the line of Sozin and Kai with riches beyond imagination in his personal coffers as only a child; he had even eventually been the Crowned Prince to the Dragon's Throne.

He might have been abused by Ozai frequently, but he was pampered during his childhood, beloved by his mother, uncle, sister somewhat, cousin, and even grandfather; servants and guards stumbled to fulfill his every request.

It had taken him a long time to realize that and when Ozai had announced that he and Uncle Iroh were titled only as traitors, forever to be hunted by those who they called kin, Zuko had hated his life. How could the spirits inflict such misery on him? How could they continuously tear him down, taking so much from him?

Eventually, after much struggle and distress, he had adapted to the change in his lifestyle and began to thrive in his new social status in Ba Sing Se. Zuko had finally felt content there, where he and Uncle Iroh were together and forging a name for themselves across the rings in the city as the ultimate tea-makers.

Then Azula revealed herself and everything changed.

When faced with the choice, Zuko had chosen his sister, trusted her words about their father over his uncle, the man who had always been more of a father to him than Ozai had ever been. He had helped Azula tear down the walls of Ba Sing Se, killing all of the guards who tried to rebel against them, aiding intrinsically in the conquer of Ba Sing Se, the last holdout in the Earth Kingdom.

And what was the worst, Zuko had helped slay Aang, his now-greatest friend; he had been part of the potential death of an Avatar, a crime punishable by death across the Four Nations. And for his efforts, he was given everything that he had ever wanted; he was hailed a hero by his people, praised by his father, but he hadn't felt like a hero. For all of the glory he had received, Zuko had felt nothing but a villain, the monster who parents tell their children about at night.

Zuko struggled immensely with his guilt and regret, his paranoia that the Avatar was still alive and would smite him down if given the chance. He had to glimpse the true feelings in his heart and soul, finally choose what path he would walk: the road of Sozin, or the road of Roku. He had resisted the decision until finally, he had chosen his own path, accepting the fact that he could make his own destiny, that nobody could take his honor away except himself – and remaining in the Fire Nation would have been dishonorable.

He had followed the Avatar's group and while it took extremely hard work, Zuko eventually painstakingly earned the Gaang, and almost more importantly Katara's trust. They became the first friends who he had ever had in life, and for the first time since his mother was in his life, save for his short stay in Ba Sing Se with Uncle Iroh, he had been happy; they were all together on Ember Island and he had enjoyed it so much, but all good things inexorably come to again – it was something that he had learned too often.

Sozin's Comet had then arrived.

Against all of the odds, they had won, and his father had been vanquished by Aang, his very firebending snuffed out. The Agni Kai between Zuko and his sister had been particularly traumatic, but after her defeat, and after making sure that Ozai was imprisoned, he had personally mandated that Azula was to be treated by the best physicians who Zuko could find. He had ascended to the calling of Fire Lord and sat proudly on the Dragon's Throne, one of the youngest ever at 16-years-old.

He had mistakenly been opportunistic, idealistic after the Great War, foolishly believing that things would continue to get better in his life, but then the Gaang, save for Aang himself, left the Caldera with hardly a goodbye. For a year, he had had Aang and he had bonded with him greatly but then his friend had to leave because the Avatar belonged to no one, only the world. With his uncle gone in Ba Sing Se and Azula sometimes not even aware of his visits to her cell, he had been more alone than ever – and with the weight of the mantle of Fire Lord. That first day when Aang had departed, the first time in over a year when he wasn't able to talk to his best friend, Zuko had ordered concubines be brought to his quarters to ease his loneliness. He had sworn that he would never be his father, but the temptations to lose himself in the flesh of the women was much too great.

It became a vicious cycle.

For years, he bedded countless whores to relieve his pain, losing himself in the feel of a woman's soft body. On the crippling days when he felt sometimes like freeing Azula just so that she would act more lively, he had indulged multiple times, and because of that, Zuko knew that if it wasn't for the special blend of herbs that prevented the women from conceiving children – unless, of course, if their Master wished otherwise – he would have many bastard children, possibly creating a dynastic succession crisis if he never sired a legitimate son or daughter who were Firebenders.

It continued until he had found his mother; only then, had he begun to cut back on his urges. Zuko still bedded whores but it was nowhere near the usual three or more a day that he had been used to, and now, since Katara had re-entered his life, he had found himself unable to indulge in his former habit.

"My liege!" A servant suddenly called out, gliding into the Royal Garden, bowing before him. "My liege, the Lady Toph has arrived; she is in the medical wing of the Palace and she claims that she possesses urgent news that you must hear, news from Avatar Aang himself."

Katara whirled around, eyes wide. "She's hurt? What happened?"

"Not exactly, Lady Katara. I am no Doctor but if I had to venture a guess, I would say that she was exhausted. Her clothes were burned slightly, but other than that, nothing seemed wrong to me."

"Bring us to her," he ordered, standing to his feet, the rest following his lead. "Act swiftly."

"Of course, my liege," the servant bowed and led them to the medical wing.

When they all arrived, Zuko saw that Toph was lying in one of the beds, face dark red; her clothes, indeed, were singed and her hair was plastered to her sweaty face, exhaustion carved into her features. He couldn't remember a time when she had ever looked so tired; she didn't look good.

"Toph!" Katara cried out in horror and rushed to her side. "How did this happen?" She drew water from her pouch and placed water-coated hands on Toph's chest.

A weak chuckle escaped past Toph's lips. "I'm what happened, Sugar Queen."

Zuko finally stepped closer, placing a gentle hand on Toph's shoulder, mindful of Katara's movements. "Where are the others, my sister and Aang? What truly happened?"

"We heard what happened," both Sokka and Suki burst into the room, eyes wild and concerned. "Toph, are you okay?"

Toph waved weakly, ignoring Katara's command to keep still. "Hey, Snoozles," she closed her eyes and her features contorted into a mixture of pain and sadness. "To answer your questions, Sparky, your Loser Lord dad, the Elemental Spirits of Earth and Fire, the Fire Sages, and the Dai Li are all what truly happened."

Dread swept through him and Zuko tried to control his breathing, but he felt the blood drain from his face; he tried to speak but couldn't find the words.

His uncle did, "Are Avatar Aang and my niece… dead?"

"No, they're not," the words reached him, and they calmed him substantially. "Don't feel so happy because while she's still alive, she might still die."

"Azula?" His mother gasped out, tears welling in her eyes. "What happened? What is it?"

Toph looked uncomfortable, "The Loser Lord tried to kill her, unleashing a lightning bolt into her chest. She shouldn't be alive, but she is; she's beyond tough, I'll give her that."

Zuko closed his eyes, his fists clenching and the candles in the room blazed. "I'm going to kill him, that fucking waste of human flesh!"

"My son, not now, please," his mother whispered, placing a shaking hand on his shoulder. "This isn't the time."

He slowly calmed himself, but he knew that he could still burst into a furious rage at any moment. "What else happened, Toph? Is Aang okay?"

"Twinkletoes is fine, physically; he went on a rampage after he thought that your dad killed Azula. He pounded into him, and somehow sliced his arm off." Zuko's eyes widened and he saw that Katara froze from her position healing Toph.

"Aang did that?" Sokka leaned forward, incredulity written on his face. "Are we talking about the same Aang? Avatar Aang, Master of the Four Elements?"

"Yes, Snoozles!" Toph snapped, "He did exactly that!"

"He did kill Kuei, Sokka," he reminded quietly. "He's changed, you know? He's not the boy who you knew. Is my father dead, now? Did Aang kill him?"

Toph looked ashamed. "No. I think that he was going to, but I stopped him; the news that Azula was alive stilled his glowing hands."

"He was that angry?" Katara asked in disbelief. "He went into the Avatar State?"

"It's impossible not to feel when he enters the Avatar State, Sugar Queen. Twinkletoes was bursting with raw, untamed, divine power."

"The news that Azula was alive kept my father alive," he shook his head. "How ironic is that?"

"Yes, and when he went back to heal Azula, I was tasked with watching the Loser Lord, but he escaped, his arm included. I failed and Twinkletoes was noticeably angry; he sent me here to bring you all to him."

Zuko digested the news while Suki spoke. "What happened to the Dai Li and Fire Sages? Will they still be a problem?"

"From what I know, no. Twinkletoes pretty much killed all of them; none survived to my knowledge."

Katara jerked away from Toph, her movements swift and tense. "You are exhausted, Toph. Why did you come here by yourself? Why didn't you take Appa?"

Toph tried to roll her eyes but failed. "I can't see on Appa, Sugar Queen, and more importantly, Twinkletoes ordered me to get to the Caldera with haste and that Appa would be staying with him."

"Why would Aang do that?" Katara demanded, looking incredulous. "He's acting strange."

"Look, he has every right to act that way, Sugar Queen. He's a man now, and the Avatar at that; he can do what he wants."

"But Azula's all right, yes?" His mother asked desperately, tears in her eyes. "She's okay?"

"As far as I know, yeah. Twinkletoes was adamant that she would be fine; he even said that if she did somehow die, he wouldn't allow it to happen." Toph shivered, her eyes falling shut. "I can't imagine how strong the lightning strike actually was, I only felt the after-effects. I don't know how she even survived it; she should be dead."

Zuko's fists balled and the Dragons roared in his spirit. "As I said earlier, I'm going to kill that fucking waste of human flesh," he hissed out, the rage in his heart overwhelming.

Katara placed her hand on his clenched fist, "Ozai's reckoning will come."

"She's right, Sparky, you know?" Toph opened her eyes again and somehow, her milky orbs snared Zuko's golden ones. "I happen to know for a fact that if I hadn't let Twinkletoes know that Azula was still alive, if she had actually been killed by the attack, then your dad would have had an excruciating death; it would be immortal, tales of his gruesome death told for centuries."

"Why?" Sokka frowned, "I don't understand. Why would Aang care if Azula was dead?"

Zuko glared at him harshly, his mother doing the same. "Take care of how you speak; she is my sister!"

"And my daughter!"

"She, too, is my niece, Master Sokka."

Sokka flinched but didn't back down from any of them. "It's a good question! Azula tried to kill him multiple times in the past and nearly succeeded underneath Ba Sing Se. Why would Aang care if she was dead? Why would it cause him to become enraged and lose control of the Avatar State in what sounds like a similar situation as Appa's?"

"Damn, you guys are dense." Toph groaned, "It's because he's in love with her."

The room was silenced by her declaration.

Zuko's eyes bulged from their sockets because, surely, he had misheard her. "Did you… did you just say that- "

"Yes, Twinkletoes is in love with your sister, Sparky; he adores her."

Katara looked dumbstruck while Sokka spluttered, horror carved into his face and Zuko wanted to throw fire at him. "But she's Azula! What the fuck?"

"He was different when he was with her during dinner when he came to the Caldera," Suki recalled quietly, her words almost a whisper but audible to everyone. "His actions point to Azula being an influence on him. If he's in love with her, he would overlook certain things and adopt some of her traits; the evidence is there."

An overjoyed smile crossed his mother's face and Zuko quickly cut in. "Mother, please, do not make a big deal about this."

"She's right to, nephew," his uncle raised an eyebrow. "Did you honestly think that something like this would ever happen?"

"Well, no, I didn't, but Azula doesn't even… you know, love Aang, or does she?" Zuko directed the question at Toph. "Do you know?"

Toph barked out a laugh, "Oh, if she was anything with Twinkletoes, I'd say that it was in love; she always watches him and even acts differently around him."

"It seems that your sister has beaten you, Zuko," his mother looked happier than he had ever seen her. "I had always thought that out of my children, you would be the one who found someone first; it appears that I was wrong."

A small smile began to curl across his lips, surprising him. "She does always win," he said softly without envy or malice. "At least it's Aang who caught her eye. If anyone can tame her, it's the Avatar."

"It's part of the allure," his mother suddenly said. "Your sister has always loved power, one of the very few traits that she inherited from your father. The Avatar is powerful beyond measure; it makes sense that she would love him."

Katara opened her mouth and Zuko felt dread prickle his mind when indignation glowed in her blue eyes, but thankfully, his uncle noticed as well and changed the subject. "Where is Aang, now?"

Toph blinked, pausing for a moment. "He's about a day's journey on foot from here; it took me all day to get here. Twinkletoes ordered me to take you guys to his location; he said that he did not care if you were busy, Sparky. He wants all of you with him; he said to leave a regent."

Zuko pinched his nose, "And just who am I supposed to leave in charge?"

"Do not worry, nephew," his uncle held up his hand before any of them could protest. "I will stay behind as regent. I am of the Royal Bloodline and can handle the pretentious Noble Houses. I was raised to sit on the Dragon's Throne, so I will be the best option. Plus, Avatar Aang doesn't need me, he needs you all."

His mother nodded her head, "As much as you dislike it, he's right, Zuko. It would be prudent to follow the Avatar's command."

"Especially when he's in such a chaotic mood," he muttered honestly. "All right. Uncle Iroh, I name you my regent during my indefinite absence to aid Avatar Aang."

His uncle bowed his head in acceptance. "I will uphold the Children of Fire with my leadership, nephew."

"Are we settled, then?" Sokka asked, "We're all going to go Aang?"

"I believe that it would be wise to bring the Ladies Mai and Ty Lee with you," his uncle advised. "Something is very strange about their attack against Zuko and if they stay in the dungeons any longer, I fear that something depraved might happen to them. I remain steadfast in my belief that they were influenced into attacking my nephew by something powerful."

He nodded his head in agreement after a moment, still slightly bitter that Mai and Ty Lee had tried to assassinate him. "That's true, uncle, and I do happen to agree with you. I will bring them with me."

"Aang could probably even heal them if they have been influenced by something." Suki pointed out, "After all, we need everyone together to fight in this new war. We'll be working with Azula and if we can work with her, we can work with Mai and Ty Lee."

"That's true, especially if my father was able to convince the Fire Sages and Dai Li to ally with him. Who knows who else he can inveigle with his words?"

Toph sighed tiredly, "That's right, you don't know."

"Don't know what, Toph?" Katara finally spoke, "What is it?"

" _Dark_ is who else is allied with the Loser Lord."

Zuko frowned, " _Dark?_  Wasn't that Vaa- "

"Don't say his name!" Toph cried out, "I've been around Twinkletoes enough to take his words about it to heart."

"So,  _Dark_  was the one who freed my brother?" His uncle asked rhetorically. "Did Aang decipher the puzzle?"

"Fuck, you guys have all missed out on a lot since I last saw you." Toph groaned, laying her head back against the cushion. "I guess that it's up to me to catch you slackers up."

She inhaled slowly and began to explain everything; lies were exposed and truths revealed.

Eventually, Zuko collapsed down to the ground, unable to stand because of the pure shock; all of the others, his uncle included, did as well. It was too much! Everything that had happened, the entire Great War, had all been designed by Vaatu; his great-grandfather wasn't a monster who had murdered another of Zuko's great-grandfathers. Sozin had been a mortal pawn, a powerful one who Agni had used to do his bidding; then there was the fact that the Fire Spirit himself had been corrupted by Vaatu, who was the opposite of Aang and freed Ozai to create his own Avatar, a Dark Avatar who already had earthbending because the Earth Spirit, too, had been corrupted to join Vaatu.

Simply thinking about the sheer magnitude of the situation caused an ache to form between his temples.

"We must leave immediately," he said aloud after Toph finished, gathering his thoughts, trying to put them in words. "This… fuck, it's much worse than I had ever imagined. It's a… a nightmare that Vaa-  _Dark_  has created and mastered meticulously for eons."

Katara was sitting next to him and sighed tiredly, the energy leaving her body; she laid her head on his shoulder, to Zuko's pleasure. "Not yet, Toph can't leave right now; she's exhausted. I'd say that she needs to rest for a day and drink a lot of water, and then tomorrow, we can depart to wherever Aang and… Azula are." She still had trouble grasping the concept that Aang loved Azula and vice versa, and honestly, Zuko couldn't blame her because he was still shocked by it.

The others all nodded in agreement at her words, but no more words were spoken because no words could be used to describe the realization of whom they will battle; all that Zuko knew was that the coming war would make the Great War look tame, even pitiful in comparison.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Aang had never been as focused as he had been, and the passage of time lost all meaning; day or night didn't even register in him. He didn't even know how much time had passed since Toph left; the only thing that mattered was Azula and Samir's safety.

Azula's body had been stabilized but become feverish with a dreadful sweat. Aang had remained vigil and did everything that he could to alleviate her pain, but he knew that only time itself would heal her body best. Names had passed her lips and when his own did, it brought a tremendous relief to his soul; was her unconscious telling him the depths of her feelings for him? The name of her father was also murmured several times and that unholy rage that swelled within Aang upon hearing that monster's name was something that would have banished him from the Air Temples if the High Elders were still alive.

It was terrifying, that potent and vicious anger that dwelled inside him; he didn't necessarily shy away from it, though. When he had mastered his chakras, he had accepted it and while it was fear-inducing, the dark anger, it was part of him, and it would always be part of him until Ozai was dealt with.

Honestly, Aang didn't truly know what to do about Ozai and Vaatu because he had no idea how they planned to bond with each other as he was with Raava. The Harmonic Convergence, based on his instincts, wouldn't occur for many years, unless Vaatu somehow figured out how to align the stars prematurely. After all, Vaatu wouldn't want to wait that long, and if he couldn't align the stars before the Harmonic Converge, he would need to somehow bond he and Ozai together in a different way.

Aang supposed that he could kill Ozai, but if Vaatu was already bonded with the monster, then a new Avatar Cycle would be created: the Dark Avatar Cycle. Ultimately, no matter what happened, his best solution would be to imprison Vaatu in the Tree of Time again, but there was a very crucial problem: Vaatu must be in the center of the Spirit World and Aang knew that his counterpart would never go there again.

He shot small flames into the fire, adding more fuel and Aang truly hoped that Toph was close with the rest of the Gaang; he felt paranoid beyond belief.

"I'm hungry, daddy!" Samir declared, gray eyes peering at him; she was supposed to be meditating to feel the air around her. She was supposed to be meditating and feeling the air around her. Aang wasn't surprised she couldn't concentrate; he was the same way when he was her age.

Aang didn't feel surprised by her inability to concentrate; he had been the same way when he was her age. "There are some snacks in my sack on Appa. Do you want me to get them for you?"

Samir shook her head and jumped up to her feet. "I'll get them!" His… daughter –  _his daughter!_  – dashed towards Appa and tried to use airbending to leap into the saddle but failed; she settled for climbing up Appa's tail.

He focused his attention back on Azula, relieved that her breathing had evened out and no discomfort was visible on her face; she looked asleep. Aang stared down at her, memorizing her beautiful features, wishing that she would open her hypnotic golden eyes; he knew that he must tell her that he loved her, he had to!

Ozai had nearly stolen his future from him – never again!

Momo chattered quietly on his shoulder and Aang nodded slowly. "Yes, I know, she'll need new garments." The pants themselves were fine, but her upper garbs were ruined and as a result, incredibly revealing because of Ozai's attack; he had been able to see most of her left breast, including the nipple. Aang had decided not to fix it earlier because he needed the skin-to-skin contact at the site of the wound to heal her, but now, Azula would be fine; she needed to be changed and there was only one solution.

After glancing at Samir, who sat in Appa's saddle eating fruit pies, Aang quickly and soundlessly slipped out of his own outer garbs; he left on his pants. He then gently removed Azula's upper garments, the fabric singed greatly in multiple areas, feeling harsh against his fingers; he tried to ensure her privacy but failed not to look at her naked chest. He blinked heavily and shook his head, dressing Azula in his now-removed outer garbs, checking to make sure that he had dressed her correctly.

The garbs were clearly too big for her, but they more than suited his purpose; she was now protected, comfortable, and most importantly, no longer partly bare.

"Wow, daddy!" Samir shouted from the saddle and Aang stiffened, knowing immediately that she was alluding to his scar; it also felt nice to be called 'daddy' by her. "What happened? Where did you get that?"

He stood to his feet and dropped Azula's old garbs into the fire, the roar of pleasure from the flames reaching his ears. Then Aang turned around to see Samir's curious, confused, and slightly fearful expression; he then leaped onto Appa's saddle, landing silently next to Samir.

"Where did I get what, Samir?" Aang asked quietly, sitting down next to her, checking to make sure that, indeed, she had been talking about his scar; he didn't want to speak about it with her if he didn't have to.

She blinked her expressive, large gray eyes up at him. "That mark on your back, daddy. It almost looks like a star! What is it?"

"It's a scar. Do you know what that is?"

"No. What is it, daddy?"

Aang sighed softly, unsure how much to tell her, but he decided to be truthful. "A scar is a natural way that the body heals itself after it's injured. They appear when there is a wound that needs to be repaired in the skin or tissues of the body. Do you understand, now?"

"So, if I hurt my hand and it… bleeds, it will… scar?"

"Very good, Samir. Yes, there would be a scar; it would be minor, not even noticeable, but it would be a scar."

"How did you get that scar and the tree, then, daddy? You were hurt?"

Memories of Ba Sing Se flashed through his mind: the Dai Li agents staring up at him in thinly-veiled terror, the divine power bursting through his body, Zuko looking panicked, and then finally, the waves of agony that swept through his body right before he was about to unleash his power at them.

He stared at her for a moment. "I was… shot with lightning," his words were quiet, serious, honest.

Samir gasped, tears welling in her gray eyes, face becoming pale. "Like mommy?"

"Yes, like… mommy," he said slowly because it still felt strange to refer to Azula as 'mommy' to Samir, but it was a change that he would gladly comply with.

"When did it happen?" Samir stared at him with wide eyes, "Was it… earlier like mommy?"

Aang shook his head, wary of scaring her. "I was 12-years-old when it happened, all because of a mistake that I made."

Samir swallowed; her face was still pale. "Was it during the… Great War?"

"Yes, it was. It happened in the catacombs of Ba Sing Se."

"Did it… hurt?"

He chose to be honest; maybe she would then understand how dangerous lightning was. "It was the most physical pain that I've ever endured in my entire life."

Samir clenched her tiny fists, a curious mixture of fear, anger, and confusion on her face. "Who did it, daddy?"

Aang paused, taken aback by her question and answered with care. "It was someone who thought that they were doing the right thing." He hadn't actually lied; Azula had shot him with the lightning to please her father, to do what she thought was right because it was all that she knew. Aang didn't blame or condemn her for her actions; he never would. She had changed, her actions had proven it to him; she had refused to join her father when everything could have been forgiven. Aang was immensely proud of her; he was just furious that she had been shot with lightning by Ozai.

"Do you hate them?"

"No, I don't. I've forgiven her."

"It was a woman?" Samir looked shocked and Aang wanted to smack himself; she was a lot more perceptive than most young children who he had met, something that reminded him of Azula.

"Yes, it was a woman, but I forgave her, Samir. I don't hate her, not at all."

"Why?"

"It's the Air Nomad way, remember?"

Samir scrunched her eyebrows together, "I don't understand! That woman hurt you."

"I forgave her because… I understood her, at least I did when I was older." Aang remembered something that Gyatso had told him. "Ultimately, Samir, you only know the end of the story, but if you want to understand, you must start at the beginning, at the heart of the story. That is the only way."

"How do you do that?"

"You do it when you're older," he said gently. "It's hard to do when you're young."

"Can I… touch it, daddy?" Aang found her hesitance endearing and he nodded, leaning forward; she reached out with her hand, her small and delicate fingers tracing the edges.

"Will mommy have a star, too?"

"She already does, but you can't see it yet. It still needs to heal," he said firmly, refusing to allow Samir to see the wound; the sight of a fresh and gruesome wound would be traumatic. Samir had already seen far too much violence in her young life and Aang wanted to do his best to keep her from seeing more.

Samir pulled away and nodded but didn't say anything for several moments before she opened her mouth. "That- that… man, he shot mommy, didn't he?"

He closed his eyes, "Yes, he did, Samir."

"He said things to mommy. Is he… mommy's daddy?"

Aang's breathing stopped and he swallowed before speaking. "Yes, he is."

"But he hurt mommy!" Samir began to breathe heavily. "I don't understand! Daddy's don't hurt their children!"

"They never should, but some are monsters. Not everyone in the world is… good."

Samir shook slightly, pulling away even further, curling in herself. "Will you… hurt me, daddy?"

"No!" Aang felt anger from the question and cursed Ozai even more. "I will never hurt you, I swear," he inched closer to her, on the verge of pleading. "You are precious to me, Samir; you have filled a void. I love you," he said truthfully because honestly, who couldn't fall in love with the girl?

"Really?" Samir swallowed and finally scooted towards him. "You love me?"

"Yes, I do."

A bright grin swept over her features. "I love you, too, daddy!" Samir leaped at him and Aang caught her effortlessly before his own smile vanished.

He suddenly felt something outside of the cave.

"Samir, someone is outside the cave," he whispered. "I need you to be quiet, okay?"

She let go of him with wide, fearful eyes, nodding her head, putting her hands over her mouth.

He jumped off of Appa, motioning for his friend to stay still, stretching his senses and panic filled him. It was an attack; he could feel Vaatu's energy! Over a dozen figures were approaching the wall that he had erected! Ozai had returned with reinforcements! He dashed towards Azula's body and placed her on Appa's tail, knowing that it would be more protective for her there than by the fire. A furious calm descended over him and he stood still as the group neared the wall, and then he struck.

Aang tore through the stone wall in a blurred motion, one hand alight with sparks of lightning while the other held a swirling tornado. It was dark out, but he glimpsed all of the figures stumble back in shock, screams escaping past their lips. He didn't give them a chance to attack because he attacked first, firing lightning at them, specifically towards where he felt Vaatu's energy.

A large wall of earth rose, and his lightning smashed into it, showers of stone exploding in every direction. He punched his fists forward and plumes of flames blazed toward them and they all barely jumped out of the way. He threw gusts of wind and several crashed into each other with a big thump, and a projectile was thrown at him and Aang, who could barely see because it was so dark out, punched it; his lips parted in pain and a grunt escaped him as another projectile was thrown at him and because he felt so disoriented, he punched it with his other hand, the same reaction erupting through him. It was metal! Blood drizzled down his knuckles and all he could feel was the pain and anger inside him.

He smashed his foot into the ground, shaking the entire area and when the group stumbled, he summoned tornadoes that swept them all from their feet, tossing them like leaves in the wind; they were all thrown back in a heap and Aang swiftly imprisoned them in the ground, blood dripping to the soil from his knuckles.

One of them – an Earthbender! – desperately tried to destroy their prison and he clenched his fist, the pain all that he could think and feel as the figure began to be crushed by the earth, their body breaking under the strain, bones on the verge of splintering.

"TWINKLETOES!" The compressed figure screamed and Aang froze, the haze fading from his eyes as he actually looked at the figures, summoning flames to see in the darkness of night. Toph, Zuko, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Ursa, Mai, Ty Lee, four Imperial Firebenders, and four Yu Yan Archers all looked up at him with flushed faces, eyes wide.

Horror spread through him and he immediately released them. "I'm sorry! I thought that you were someone else; Ozai could return."

Toph was heaving in air greedily and glared at him, body shaking. "No shit, Twinkletoes," she coughed, hacking awfully. "What the fuck was that? You almost killed me, killed us all!"

"I felt…  _Dark's_  energy," he could still feel it and he locked eyes on Mai and Ty Lee, who were chained, surrounded by the Yu Yan Archers and Imperial Firebenders, and stared at him with purple-colored eyes – just as Agni and Devi's. "It's them; they've been corrupted."

Zuko stumbled over to him, rubbing his wrists. "That's why I brought them. My uncle and I both thought that you could heal them."

"They returned from their banishment, I see," he commented, trying to make sense of everything. "What happened?"

"They tried to kill me."

Aang blinked, "I'm glad to see that they didn't succeed."

His friend's lips twitched, "Me too, Aang."

The rest of the Gaang crowded around him and Katara looked at his hands. "Aang, your hands!"

"Sorry about that," Toph didn't sound apologetic. "I thought that metal would stop you. My mistake."

He glanced down, the pain returning, and he breathed deeply. "I've had much worse, but I need to deal with them. It's good to see you all again." Aang stepped towards the chained Mai and Ty Lee, bemused and disheartened when they began to thrash violently, snarls escaping their lips, the dark energy inside them screeching. "This is going to hurt," he said and without preamble, placed his thumbs on both of their foreheads. Their eyes bulged from their sockets and they stopped breathing; the dark energy shrieked in protest but Aang pulled it out of their bodies.

"Damn," Sokka muttered behind him, but he ignored everything but the dark energy.

Mai and Ty Lee gasped, falling bonelessly to the ground in a heap, eyes blinking rapidly. Aang glared at the dark energy swirling between his hands; it was Vaatu's, absolutely. He clapped his hands together and focused his own power into it, forcing it to disperse into nothingness.

"They won't attack us?" Zuko asked from behind him and Aang turned around after making sure that no dark energy had escaped his notice.

"No, they won't. They will be- "

Mai and Ty Lee groaned, both opening her eyes to stare directly at him. "Thank you, Avatar."

"You're welcome," he helped them to their feet. "You are both healed, now; the feel of poison clouding your mind won't be felt again."

Ty Lee's eyes were misty, "You didn't have to save us, Avatar Aang. Thank you."

He looked at the Imperial Firebenders and Yu Yan Archers. "They won't be a threat, don't worry."

Ursa stepped closer towards him, golden eyes watery and imploring. "Is Azula all right?"

He nodded his head, "I have stabilized her, but she remains unconscious."

"Where is she?" Katara questioned flatly, arms crossed over her chest. "In the cave?"

"She's resting on Appa's tail." Ursa whirled around and ran into the cave and Aang's eyes widened. "Samir! It's okay! Toph arrived with the others!"

"Samir?" Sokka echoed as they all followed Ursa into the cave. "Who is that?"

A head peaked over Appa's saddle and Aang nodded encouragingly. "It's okay, all right?"

Samir darted off of the saddle down to Appa's tail to be near Azula and Aang sighed, realizing that she would be shy and uncomfortable with people who she didn't know.

"Who is she, Aang?" Katara asked quietly, standing next to him. "You didn't answer Sokka's question."

Toph's head fell, "Damn. I knew that I forgot to mention something. Samir's our little hitchhiker who stowed away on Appa to the Eastern Air Temple."

Suki's eyebrows rose. "She stowed away on Appa? That's impressive."

Aang grimaced, "I was kind of in a difficult place at that point. I didn't notice."

"Why is she with you?" Zuko frowned, "Why did she stow away?"

"She had dreams of darkness- "

Sokka rolled his eyes, looking at Toph. "You told us about the dreams of darkness but didn't tell us about the girl?"

"It slipped my mind!"

"How much do you know?" Aang questioned, wondering if he could save time. "What did Toph tell you?"

"Everything except about Samir, apparently." Sokka snarked, grinning wildly.

"Why is she with you, Aang?" Katara glared at her brother, "Wouldn't she be better off with her parents, or are they… dead?"

"Samir is the first new generation of Airbenders." At his words, their eyes widened, and gasps of delight filled his ears, filling his heart with joy and small amounts of pride.

"You mean, she's an Airbender?" Katara exclaimed, "Aang, that's wonderful! Does she have any siblings? Are they Airbenders, too?"

"Don't forget parents," Sokka added, "or are they dead?"

"She's an orphan, who was born a non-bender. I used energybending and gifted airbending to her; she earned it. I'm proud of her."

Sokka blinked, astonishment clear on his face. "Wait, what? Are you- you can do that?"

"With any element, yes."

"Then why don't you give me waterbending, Aang? The North has been busting my balls because I'm not a Waterbender; it would help my position!"

Aang stared at him sadly, "Because to receive an element, you have to behave and think like the benders of the element. You don't think like a Waterbender, Sokka, you just don't. If I gifted it to you, it's likely that you will die from an overwhelmed chi because it isn't who you are at the core of your spirit."

Sokka looked downtrodden but Zuko spoke before he could. "Toph told us everything that happened. How is my sister?" His friend looked incredibly interested in his answer and Aang noticed that the rest of the Gaang had leaned forward to hear his answer.

He answered slowly, "I already told your mother, Zuko: I believe that the worst is over but now Azula is wracked by a fever."

"How is she still alive?" Katara questioned, looking intrigued despite herself. "She was shot full of lightning. How come she isn't dead? How did you manage to heal her? You didn't have Spirit Water from the Spirit Oasis, or did you?"

"I didn't. Azula is strong; she was holding on by her lonesome before I healed her. I mostly used bloodbending."

Katara's eyes widened, disbelief and horror etched into her face. "What? Aang, how could you do such a thing? Why would you perform such a horrid and- "

Zuko interrupted, placing his hands on Katara's shoulders. "Aang can explain later, okay? It's not important how Azula was healed, just that she was. None of us want to argue. I myself want to check on my sister. Guards! Archers!"

"Yes, my liege?" All of the Imperial Firebenders and Yu Yan archers asked at once.

"Station outside."

"At once, my liege." Their synchronized steps faded as they stepped outside.

Aang gestured for them to follow him, ignoring Katara's piercing and angry stare. "Be gentle with your words about Azula's injury, if you say anything. I don't want Samir to be scared, okay? I'm speaking mostly to you, Sokka."

"Why me?"

"Why not you?"

"Oh, good point."

Ursa and Samir were sitting next to Azula's unconscious form, speaking quietly, both faces flushed with emotion and Zuko crouched down beside them, placing a hand on his mother's shoulder. "Thank you, Aang. You saved her life. The Fire Royal Family owes you a debt."

"I would have saved her regardless of her heritage, Zuko."

"That's two of us, now, Zuko." Sokka chuckled, "First, Katara and now, Aang."

"What did Katara do to- " he cut himself off in understanding. "She is who saved you from Mai and Ty Lee's attack, isn't she?"

"Yes, I arrived just in time," Katara said softly. "Mai and Ty Lee were looming over him, about to kill him before I acted."

Sokka leaned forward, "What kind of debt are we talking, Zuko? Could this debt – hypothetically, of course – be given to someone else?"

Zuko glared at Sokka, "I'm not talking about this right now."

Suki placed a calm hand on her husband's arm. "Toph explained everything to us, Aang. What is the plan? What are we going to do?"

Ursa and Samir stopped talking quietly and he saw Samir's eyes widen when she fully looked at Zuko. "Is that a scar on your face?"

Aang stilled and he noticed that most everyone had stopped breathing as Zuko looked dumbstruck. "Ex- excuse me?"

Samir looked confused and pointed at his eye. "Is that a scar?"

Zuko blinked, his eyes darting towards Aang. "Yes…"

He gestured towards his back. "She saw my scar and asked about it, about what scars are. She didn't know."

"Does it still bother you?" Katara abruptly enquired softly, "I haven't asked you."

"Not really," he shrugged. "There are some moments when it flares, but it's relatively painless compared to what it once felt like."

She looked relieved, "That's good - I'm glad."

"So, what do you want to do, Aang?" Suki looked at him expectantly, "How do you want to handle this?"

"Well, right now, we need to send a message to the Northern Water Tribe to let Arnook know to expect an attack, to protect the Spirit Oasis at all costs. Ozai seeks to gain all of the elements and I fear the thought. And, of course, I need to figure out where the Air Spirit is. I have no idea where she is."

"And the only way for Ozai to get the elements is from the Lion Turtles or the Elemental Spirits, right?" Sokka placed his fingers over his lips, "That's why Agni and Devi are with him, now?"

Aang nodded, "Yes, although an Energybender could give him the elements, too. Thankfully, I am the only Energybender who wields the elements in existence." He glanced outside to where Mai and Ty Lee still were, "Zuko, could you call in the guards to bring Mai and Ty Lee."

His friend blinked, "Guards!"

One of the Imperial Firebenders entered the cave and kneeled stoically before Zuko. "Yes, my liege?"

"The Ladies Mai and Ty Lee aren't to be treated as a threat. Release them to come in here."

"Of course, my liege."

"And one more thing," his friend said and Aang raised his eyebrows. "The Avatar needs a message sent to the Northern Water Tribe. It is of the utmost importance, so act swiftly in returning with supplies."

The guard nodded his head and stepped out of the cave, grabbing supplies from one of the other men, and then bringing Mai and Ty Lee inside, freed from their chains. "As you have requested, my liege."

"Give them to Avatar Aang."

"At once, my liege."

"Here, sit down," he gestured towards Mai and Ty Lee, smiling as he accepted the supplies. "Wait a moment, my friend," he hastily scribbled down the message for Arnook and then handed it to the guard, who rushed out of the cave respectfully.

"Don't worry, Avatar Aang," Azula and Zuko's mother said. "Warhawks travel quickly."

"Yes," he nodded and then motioned towards Mai and Ty Lee. "Can you tell us anything about Ozai and what he and  _Dark's_ plans are?"

" _Dark?"_  Mai furrowed her dark eyebrows, "Is that Vaa- "

"Yes, but don't ever say his name," he warned. "Names have power and when you speak them, especially a spirit's that is mighty beyond your understanding, you are giving him power over you. Because you've already been corrupted, you are more liable to fall under his influence again."

"That's reassuring," Mai replied flatly and Aang's eyes briefly closed: some things would never change.

"Can you tell us anything, either of you?" Zuko asked, "Can you remember anything?"

"Not really." Ty Lee looked at Mai hesitantly, "It was like waking from a… horrible nightmare."

"Yes, we only knew the basics: become an Avatar, gain the elements, corrupt powerful mortals, and then destroy Avatar Aang and Raava."

"I don't understand what  _Dark's_  problem is with you, Aang." Katara did, indeed, look bemused. "Why does he hate you? I can understand Ozai, but not him."

Aang sighed, " _Dark_  hates the Avatar because I am Raava's vessel, just as  _Dark_  intends Ozai to be his. Raava is Light and Peace, whereas  _Dark_  is Darkness and Chaos. They were opposites and when  _Dark_  was almost secure in conquering both of the Realms eons ago, the first Avatar, a man named Wan, stopped him by bonding eternally with Raava, able to control all of the elements and command the spirits."

"Some people don't need a true reason to hate someone, Lady Katara." Ursa's golden eyes shined with knowledge and experience. "They just hate them, and it will never make sense. I fully believe that my husband is one of these individuals."

"Yes, but the Loser Lord is insane," Toph pointed out, picking her toes. "I could feel the madness with my feet; he's crazy."

Zuko smiled tightly, "You can never persuade a deranged man differently. Trust me, you'd be better off cutting their tongues from their mouth. Madmen don't need reasons, just a feeling."

"Okay, let's talk about something else, how about it?" Katara suggested, placing a gentle hand on Zuko's arm. "Let's discuss possible locations where the Air Spirit could be. Would she be at any of the Air Temples, Aang?"

"Nope!" Samir suddenly spoke, a bright grin on her face, her cheer almost infectious. "Daddy says that the spirits can only come on the Solstices!"

"Daddy?" Sokka echoed incredulously, "I thought that your parents were… gone. Who's your dad, kid?"

"Did something happen while I was gone?" Toph demanded, "What was- " she trailed off as Samir beamed and ran at Aang, and he reflexively caught her and let loose a laugh as she hugged him tightly, her small arms wrapping around his neck. "Although I was eventually expecting it, it's still a shock," she nodded her head. "Congratulations."

"I guess that answers your question, Sokka." Suki teased her shocked husband, who looked just as astonished as Katara did. "I concur with Toph, Aang: congratulations. The Air Nomads are returning to the world, as they should be."

Sokka's jaw was dropped and he blinked rapidly. "What? Are you- what the fuck? This is not something that you just- "

"I've often admired your bluntness, Master Sokka, but there is now a child present." Ursa said not unkindly, "Refrain from such language. Avatar Aang, can I assume that you fathered her years ago and only just now found her? The resemblance that she shares with you is second-to-none."

"I adopted her, actually, Dowager Fire Lady Ursa- "

"Just Ursa, Avatar Aang."

"When I gifted Samir airbending, her chi copied my essence and it changed her to look more like me." Aang glanced at Sokka, "Aren't you relieved now that I can't give you waterbending?"

Sokka paled, "Now that you mention it, yes."

"Daddy says that I remind him of mommy!" Samir exclaimed with a pout. "Remember, daddy?"

"Yes, I do," he took in everyone's wide eyes and motioned towards Azula. "Samir sees Azula and me as her parents. I have chosen to adopt her and when Azula awakens, she can choose to do the same."

Ursa looked delighted by his words. "That's wonderful, Avatar Aang," her eyes looked misty and he noticed that both Mai and Ty Lee's eyebrows had disappeared into their hair. Toph didn't look surprised while Sokka, Katara, and Suki all seemed aghast, baffled.

"So, you have a child with my sister, then?" Zuko's lips twitched and he didn't look displeased. "You work fast."

"I'm an Airbender."

"Anyway," Sokka interrupted, waving his hands wildly. "Air Spirit, hello? That's what we were trying to discuss!"

Suki rolled her eyes, "In spite of my loving husband's brash manner, he is correct. Where do you think that the Air Spirit could be, Aang?"

"Well, she could be in either of the Realms, honestly."

"How could she be here?" Katara frowned, "I thought that- "

"She could have sacrificed her immortality just as the Ocean and Moon Spirits did," he commented evenly. "If she did that, then she could be anywhere, shaped into whatever form that she chose."

Sokka's eyebrows rose, "That makes sense, but I have a question: if a spirit sacrifices their immortality just as the Ocean and… Moon did, do they die of old age?"

"No," he shook his head. "The immortality of a spirit refers to undying; they can't die at all. If they give that up, they won't age in a regular sense that you would understand, but as Zhao demonstrated, they can absolutely be killed if they sacrifice their immortality."

"Do you think that's what she did, then?" Zuko shot a small blast of flames into the fire, "She sacrificed her immortality?"

"It's possible, but she could just as easily still be someplace in the Spirit World," he sat Samir down and stood up to stroke Appa's head. "No matter what, she would need some place where she would be able to heal."

"Heal?" Katara inquired. "What do you mean?"

"The genocide of the Air Nomads had to have weakened her tremendously; she would need time to heal."

"This is just fantastic, then," Toph concluded sarcastically and irritably. "We don't have any leads."

"It does seem that way," Suki stated. "We have time, though. From what it sounds like, Ozai is missing an arm and most of his allies save for  _Dark_  have been dealt with; he needs time to regroup, too."

"I took your advice and left Uncle Iroh as my regent for an indefinite period of time." Zuko stared at him, "Whatever you need, I'll be here to help you – just as you helped me."

Katara's blue eyes were pleading but firm, holding him in place for a moment. "We will all be here, Aang; we will all help."

"Oh, yeah," Sokka grinned. "The whole Gaang is back together – with a few newcomers."

The anger was there, and he felt the familiar bitterness flood him, but now wasn't the time and place for a confrontation so Aang tried to smile but didn't know if he succeeded. "That's good," he checked on Azula, water-coated hands grazing her injury.

"Count us in as well, Avatar Aang." Ty Lee said, "Mai and I would love to help you stop Ozai." She shockingly sneered the name in disgust.

"Then you can join the Gaang, too." Sokka asserted, "You two will be newcomers just as Ursa and Samir!"

"Working in a group worked so well for us last time," Mai said dryly, leaning back. "Whatever, just as long as we stop Ozai and Vaa-  _Dark."_

The mention of Ozai produced dread and Aang felt the sudden need to be close to Azula; he pulled his hands away from her wound and laid her back against his chest, uncaring of the audience – he needed it!

He considered Mai and Ty Lee, tilting his head. "When Azula wakes up, it is likely that she will attack you if she can."

"We know," Ty Lee whispered, looking sad.

A tense silence swept through the cave and Sokka stared at him, more specifically him holding Azula against his naked chest in disgusted fascination. "You- " he spluttered when Suki cut him off, jamming her elbow into his side harshly.

"My liege!" The Imperial Firebender entered the cave, "I did as was ordered."

Zuko waved his hand dismissively. "Good. Return to your post."

"Thank you, Avatar Aang," Ursa's eyes shined as she stared at him. "You've brought me relentless joy," at her words, he realized that she was thanking him for something other than healing her daughter.

"You're welcome," he nodded hesitantly, fearing the depths of her thanks. Did she know?

Zuko pulled a letter from his waist, holding it towards him. "Uncle Iroh wanted me to give this to you," he tossed the scroll and Aang plucked it from the air before it fell into the fire. "It details the Order of the White Lotus and the replenishing of its ranks."

Aang skimmed the words and closed his eyes in grief; so many members had been slaughtered off and he wasn't able to stop it. After controlling his emotions, he looked back at Zuko. "This is good. I support all of your uncle's thoughts and even endorse them; I believe that Mai and Ty Lee and everyone else would make excellent members, although I am hesitant to include the Boulder."

Mai blinked, "Wait, what now?"

"What?" Sokka cried out, "Why, Aang? The Boulder is awesome!"

"Oh, please, Snoozles," Toph huffed. "I could eat him for breakfast."

"Sokka," Katara rolled her eyes. "The Boulder is stupid; he may be strong physically, but mentally, he is anything but."

Before Sokka could retort, Zuko quickly began to explain what the Order of the White Lotus was to both Mai and Ty Lee. "The Order is the Avatar's personal organization, an army of the…"

Aang ignored them and sighed tiredly, feeling his exhaustion more potently than before; he squeezed Azula's unconscious body tighter, resting her head against his chest, pressing his chin against her hair to keep her head from sagging.

Samir tugged at his pants. "Daddy, I'm tired," she yawned, and her gray eyes were half-lidded.

"You'll sleep better on Appa's tail," he whispered and smiled slightly as she slowly walked towards Appa's tail, falling back against the fur; she didn't stir.

"I think that the kid has got the right idea because I'm beat; it's been a long and tiring day." Sokka stood up and stretched. "Suki and I will see you guys in the morning."

"Goodnight, everyone," Suki said graciously and then looked at Toph. "Would you create some… tents for us all?"

Toph punched her fist into the ground, earth tents sprouting from the ground on the other side of the cave. "Just remember, I can feel everything that goes on in here. I'm looking at you, Snoozles, so keep it down," she exclaimed as she entered one of the tents. "Goodnight."

Katara glanced around and then stood to her feet. "I believe that I will turn in for the night, too," she whispered something to Zuko and smiled at Aang. "Goodnight, Aang."

"Goodnight, Katara," he inclined his head. "I hope that you sleep well."

"I am in need of sleep, too," Ty Lee sluggishly stood up. " _Dark's_  tendrils stole much of my energy."

"Mine too," Mai grunted and followed Ty Lee into one of the tents.

Aang watched everyone leave save for Ursa and Zuko; they were all who remained around the small fire.

"Please speak candidly, Avatar Aang. How has my daughter been?" Ursa stared at Azula's face, "I trust your words more than any others'."

"That's reassuring, mother," Zuko mumbled, looking amused.

"She's made great progress," he answered honestly. "Azula has accepted her actions from the past, finally healing from the numerous scars of growing up under… Ozai; she's an amazing person, Lady Ursa. It has been a great blessing to have her in my life, I won't lie. You should feel proud; she is stronger than she gives herself credit for, I believe."

Tears welled in Ursa's eyes and she wiped them away. "Oh, I am so proud of the woman that she has become, Avatar Aang, more than she knows. It fills me with great joy and gladness that she has healed, and I believe that it is because of you that she has, Avatar Aang; you were the catalyst for her transformation. Thank you for saving my daughter."

"We've both helped each other; she has helped me a lot," he admitted.

Ursa smiled at his words and stood up, walking over softly; she leaned down to gently kiss Azula's forehead and then she walked back to do the same to Zuko. "Goodnight, you two," she said and entered one of the earth tents.

"So, you really are in love my sister?" Zuko asked softly, almost hesitantly after several moments of silence. "Toph told us."

"So, they all know, then?" He asked tiredly, realizing why Sokka had been acting that way.

"Yes. It was a fierce subject of debate when we were traveling here."

"I really do love her, Zuko," he shook his head. "Believe me, I tried to fight and reject it, but I was unsuccessful; she effortlessly tore through all of my defenses. Ozai almost took her from me before I told her; she will know when she wakes up."

"Azula has always been good at tearing through defenses. …I'm sorry about my father."

"You aren't responsible for your father's actions, Zuko. He alone bears the blame; he will eventually face my true wrath and there will be no escape."

"That sounds perfect for that monster," his friend fidgeted. "Listen, just don't hurt her, okay? I know that I could never even hope to defeat you in a battle, but I'm going to say this anyway because in spite of everything, she's my sister and I love her: I will kill you if you hurt her."

"I would expect nothing less."

"You know, it makes sense, you two."

"How so?"

"Well, you both balance each other out. I haven't seen you guys together since that dinner a couple of months ago in the Caldera, but based on that, you make a good team."

"We do, actually, don't we? Who would have thought?"

"Nobody. I mean, I had always thought that you and Katara were…" his friend trailed off, looking away in shame.

"What, going to get married? Have kids? Be this great, renowned ideal for others to strive towards? I'll be honest: I used to think as you did, but I grew up, Zuko." His friend looked back at him and Aang spaced his words intentionally. "Katara and I would have never worked, anyway; she was a child's fantasy. What does a 12-year-old boy with lifetimes' worth of trauma know, Zuko? Simply, he knows nothing about life or what he wants, what or who would be best for his future. Frankly, I didn't need a mother anymore and she needed someone who wouldn't be away for months at a time. I could never be the Avatar that I need to be in if I were in a relationship with her; I'm done running from my destiny."

"I think that I might possibly be, you know, a little bit in love with her myself," his friend's eyes were vulnerable. "I think that I've been in love with her for years."

Aang smiled kindly, "That's not a surprise, Zuko."

"It's not?"

"No. You two have always shared such a strong connection, even when you were hunting us; she ranted about you often. I remember that I had felt threatened by you, actually."

"Really?"

"Of course. Unlike me when I was 12-years-old, you were old enough to actually know what and who you wanted; that's a big difference. I think that part of me recognized that."

"I just feel like-"

"You're stealing her from me?" When his friend nodded guilty, he felt a small chuckle escape past his lips. "No, not at all, Zuko. I was the one who ended it and she voiced no protest; we both knew it would go nowhere and that was over six years ago. Katara is the one who would choose with whom she wants to spend the rest of her life. If she chooses you, which I can envision, then I have advice for you."

Zuko looked nervous, "What is it?"

Aang grinned, "Just be ready for stewed sea prunes."

The anxiety faded away and Zuko laughed. "You mean, you're not mad?"

"No, I'm not. If it works out, then I will be happy for you, for both of you."

"Thank you, Aang," his friend said quietly. "You are a good friend, the best."

"You're welcome."

"Do you think that we will win? We barely know what  _Dark_  is capable of; we have no idea what he and my father will do next besides locating the other Elemental Spirits."

"Balance will be restored, as it should be; true balance will be victorious."

"How can you believe that? How can you be so certain?"

"Because I must be," he looked down at Azula's slumbering form. "If I'm not, I risk everything and everyone who matter to me."

XxXxXxXxXxX

Sound slowly filtered into her ears, and then the presence of a hand stroking her own registered in her mind. What had happened? Where was she? Who was speaking? Who was touching her? She felt her head lying on something soft, comforting, warm, and safe. She tried to open her eyes but couldn't; they had been closed for a long time.

Then it was there, the pain and its waves of agony scorched through her nerves, causing her to gasp. It was too much, but the pain was good. Pain meant that she was alive and not dead as so many wanted her to be. It was one of the only worthy lessons that Ozai had taught her anything useful and if she were thankful for that man for anything, then it was that lesson.

Her chest specifically ached unbearably, bearing down her mind with the affliction, but the pain was swiftly eased by another hand, bring utter relief. In spite of the reprieve from the pain that the hand had brought her, she grunted and fidgeted against the hand, trying to escape. Where was she? Was she in the presence of enemies, people who wished her dead?

"Azula, it's all right. You're safe," the words cut through the fear and immediately, she calmed, recognizing Aang's voice; she refocused her energy on solely opening her eyes, and within moments, light pierced through and once she adjusted, golden eyes met gray eyes. Aang grinned down at her gently and the sight calmed her more than any healing hands. "Hey, welcome back; it's good to see you with us, in the land of the living."

A gasp reached her ears and then a small body pressed up against her harshly, small arms wrapping around her. "Mommy, you're awake!"

Azula blinked, wondering if she had heard correctly. "Mommy?"

"Samir, do you want to tell her, now?" Aang coaxed softly, "It's okay."

A beaming face that belonged to Samir looked up at her. "You're my mommy."

A moment of astonishment passed her by and then Azula smirked slightly. "Well, I could get used to that, methinks." Indeed, she had always liked the girl and found joy in teaching her things; it also probably helped that Samir bore a great resemblance to Aang since she became an Airbender.

Her mother suddenly entered her vision, staring down at her with a joyful smile. "I was so worried; it's good to see you, Azula."

"Hello, mother," she said hesitantly, eyes roving to the side and she stilled when she observed who was near her: the peasants, Toph, Suki, her brother, her mother, and… Mai and Ty Lee. By Agni –  _it was them!_  The memories of that day swept through her, causing her golden eyes to burn; she flinched as she tried to jump to her feet but couldn't because of the pain that spasmed through her body, causing her to fall back into Aang's bare chest. "The moment when I feel better, you will taste my wrath, traitors!"

"Azula!" Her brother snapped, "Calm down!"

"You pitiful cowards," flames bloomed from her full lips and Aang's arms tightened around her, but he didn't say anything. "The foul sight of you inflicts pestilence upon me! You two are unfit for any place but the thorns of the Gardens of the Dead! By my hands, I will supplant your life with death!"

"Mommy," Samir whispered and Azula's mouth shut.

Aang's breath rustled her hair. "Everyone, leave us; she and I must talk. Take Samir with you, please."

Azula turned her head away, unable to even look at the two traitors; she heard the group leave and when she looked back, everyone was out of the cave. Aang let go of her and she stumbled to her feet, her aching muscles protesting and thanking at the same time; she saw him quickly twitch his fingers, creating a wall that gave them privacy, sealing the cave shut, the fire near them providing light. She saw the dried blood on his knuckles, the cracked and swollen fingers.

"What happened to your hands?"

"When Toph returned with everyone, it was dark outside and because I didn't know that it was them, I attacked. Toph tried to stop me by bending metal at me, but I foolishly punched it."

"Why haven't you healed your hands or asked… Katara to do so?"

"I had other things on my mind."

"Do they hurt?"

"Yes, but enough about that," his gray eyes held her in place. "I was so afraid," he whispered, and she rubbed her bosom, probing the area where the pain had been. "When Ozai unleashed that…"

She was suddenly assaulted with the memory of her father firing the bolt of lightning at her while grinning widely; she was eerily still and discovered that she felt relief. "I'm a failure in his eyes just as Zuzu," she laughed because, indeed, she did feel relief at the realization. No more, would she be haunted by the looming shadow of her monstrous father, never bearing the mind-numbing expectations that crushed her body under the insurmountable weight.

"No, he is the failure, Azula," Aang approached her, eyes serious, haunted by something. "Ozai is the failure above all failures; his life must be blotted out and I will see to it, I swear. It was beyond foolish of me to spare his life at the end of the Great War during Sozin's Comet."

Azula accepted his offered hand and marveled at how Aang's large hands caressed her own. "Thank you for healing me, for saving my life," she felt her chest ache from the words.

"You did it by yourself; you were still alive. I added to the healing process," his eyes shut, and the deep fear and rage caught her attention. "I had thought that you were dead. I unleashed my power on Ozai, fervently spilling his blood, the might of the Avatar State on full display. I sliced off his arm with airbending and I began to strangle him, ready to enter the Spirit World to vanquish  _Dark_  and your father. Then Toph appeared and informed me that, somehow, you were still alive. I rushed back and found you on the brink of death, but still breathing, heart still beating sluggishly."

"And my father? Did he escape?"

"I left him with Toph but  _Dark_ un-tethered himself from Ozai, catching Toph by surprise; yes, he's gone." When he finished, Azula suddenly laughed, feeling it sweep through her body. "What is so amusing?" Aang demanded, "I don't understand."

Her golden eyes locked onto his gray ones. "It's just that I know the full meaning of irony, now. I shot you with lightning and now, I was shot, too."

Aang's eyes darkened into storm clouds. "You could have died! Damn it, don't you understand that?" She was shocked by his words, unable to do anything as he paced back and forth in front of her, movements harsh and unstable, muscles angrily tensed, veins rupturing past skin. "I had thought that-" he cut himself off, whirling to stare at her, eyes blazing with emotions. "He almost forever took what was most important to me and without the truth known to you. I have been an Airbender for far too long; avoid and evade, airbending tactics and I am tired of evading. I am all of the elements and it is high time that I indulge in the Firebender in me; Firebenders know what and who they want, understand how to get what they desire. I, too, am a Firebender and that means that I am done running."

He stepped closer and Azula tried to stare at him calmly, but she wasn't successful. "What do you mean, Aang? What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is that I want you, Azula, all of you. I don't care about your past; I care about you. You might not be perfect in the eyes of others, but to me, you are perfect. The very instant when we saw each other Ember Island, it would always lead to this, to this moment. You have made me better, opened my blind eyes to see the world as it truly is. You support me and challenge me; you are unafraid to disagree with me unlike most because I am the Avatar. I am my truest self with you, able to feel the depths of peace descend on my heart and soul when your eyes connect to my own. I love you, Azula; my love is beyond words and actions. You can doubt that time flows, doubt that Agni's light brings warmth, and doubt that water is refreshing, but never doubt that I love you."

She was overwhelmed; tears welled in her golden eyes and several slipped down her cheeks in spite of her best efforts. She had already known that Aang loved her, his own actions and Pathik's words had confirmed it, but experiencing the emotions that flooded her after he voiced the true depths of his love was unfamiliar and not unwelcome.

His face was so close, eyes shining with honesty and Azula did the only thing that she could: she kissed him, pulling his face down to her own, lips molding against his.

Aang froze but her eager lips allowed him to overcome his shock; his hands curled into her hair, pulling her even closer to his body, her breasts pressed against his hard, bare chest. She moaned at the contact, surprising herself, and pulled back barely. "That was a good speech, Avatar," her lips grazed his as she spoke. "Been practicing it, haven't you?"

"Yes," he whispered back and kissed her passionately again, their tongues interweaving, probing, tasting. Aang's hands brushed up her body and landed on her breasts, kneading them gently, fingers pressing into the swollen mounds; he pulled back and his heated, glowing eyes snared her own, their combined panting filling the air. "Your lips have potential, Azula; there is great power in their soft, full, and addictive flesh that will belong only to you: able to sooner persuade the Avatar in ways that none of the most powerful men in the world could ever hope to."

Intense arousal swept through her at his words. "I love you, too," she whispered and the fear that she had always expected to accompany such a declaration was there. Instead, there was only contentment and peace, something that she wanted to always feel. Her father would beat her if he knew, but she no longer cared about him; he was a monster and had obviously never cared for her, he had said as much. Why should she care for someone who didn't care for her in return?

Aang smiled and pulled her into a hug, pressing his lips to her head gently. Azula nestled her face into his neck, kissing and nipping the revealed skin, smirking when she felt him groan; her ample breasts were pressed softly against his naked chest and she yearned for more, to feel more, so she closed her eyes and relaxed in his strong, protective embrace, letting herself feel. Aang held her closely and she basked in it; she rubbed her hands into the muscles in his back, stroking with her nails and suddenly, something poked into her stomach, causing her eyes to open.

His arms swiftly disappeared around her, leaving a renowned sense of loss, and he backed away, heat coloring his face. "Sorry," he murmured, body twitching, refusing to look at her. Azula stared at the very noticeable bulge in his pants and coming to a decision, she approached him and grabbed his clenched fists, feeling the swollen digits and cracked and bloodied skin; she pulled him down, bringing his lips to her own once again. Heat pooled inside her and she wanted more, so her fingers grasped at his trousers, but he reluctantly pulled back, eyes stormier than she had ever seen, heated with fire that surpassed Sozin's Comet. "Azula, we shouldn't," his voice was rough, and his eyes wandered to her full lips and she smirked in victory. "You are hurt and- "

"We should do this," she whispered, sliding her fingers to rub against the large bulge, relishing in his groan of pleasure. "We both clearly want this; we love each other. You will enjoy it and I need you," she sought out his lips but when he half-heartedly raised his head, she settled for his neck, pressing her lips against the flushed skin, her tongue darting out to cool the inflamed areas. "Love me, Aang, and take what is rightfully yours; you are mine."

Aang's hips suddenly bucked forward and he groaned loudly; his hands gripped her cheeks not unkindly and their eyes met again. Azula shivered pleasantly because of the look in his gray depths, of the way heat exploded through both of them; their lips met again but this time, there would be no delays or attempts to stop. She delighted in the way he kissed her and to reward him, she ran her hands through his hair, scratching his scalp with her nails. He sighed into her mouth and sucked her lower lip, caressing it gently, a moan escaping her that was swallowed by his mouth.

Azula pulled at his pants but Aang's hands grabbed her own, stopping her; he left her lips with a sucking sound and then leaned upward, almost making her cry out in frustration. "If we do this, we are going to do it the right way," his eyes were heated but serious and she heard the ground shift behind her. A large slab of smooth earth was made and Aang grabbed some of Appa's discarded fur and place it over the earth; she followed him eagerly and laid on the bed, ready to experience him fully.

His hands immediately pulled at her garments and she slipped out of the robes without delay; she finally saw the scar on her chest, given to her by her father. It was above her left breast, the skin angry and it looked very similar to the scar on Aang's back; she stared at it uncomprehendingly and Aang leaned down to kiss it gently, lovingly. "I'm sorry," he whispered, moving to her other breast. "I'm so sorry."

She sighed loudly at the feel of his lips against her breasts. "Don't be. If that is what led to this moment, then I'd experience it a thousand times over." Her nipples hardened as he massaged her breasts, fingers caressing and she closed her eyes, pants escaping past her lips. "Keep going, please."

Aang continued his ministrations and a cry of pleasure escaped her when his tongue ringed across her hard nipples, flicking gently, and her sounds of pleasure seemed to send Aang into a frenzy for his mouth was everywhere, hot and heavy, devouring every part of her.

He pulled back and slipped out of his trousers, leaving both of them completely bare. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that you were an Avatar of beauty, a goddess beyond any other."

Azula smirked, his words touching the deepest recesses of her soul. "You're not bad yourself, Avatar," she purred. "I need you and only you can give me what I want." He loomed over and his gray eyes were almost black with passion; he kissed her, slipping his tongue between her lips to prod her own and she moaned at the contact, and his answering rumble vibrated pleasantly against her breasts. Azula grasped at his hair even harder, pulling him closer until no space was left between their bodies; she felt herself becoming wet as her hips rubbed against his muscular body. "Aang, please," she moaned as she felt his manhood brush her entrance; his hands dug into her thighs and it sent shivers of expectation up her spine.

Aang pressed against her wet entrance and slowly, achingly entered her, causing her to gasp and him to groan; she felt him press against her barrier and when he looked at her for permission, she nodded her head impatiently, trusting him. He didn't hesitate as he pushed forward and Azula felt her barrier tear, causing pain to register and while she did wince slightly, it was quickly overwhelmed by the onslaught of pleasure; she bucked her hips to get him to continue, white-hot fire thrashing through both of them at the contact.

He rolled his hips several times and swallowed her moan with his lips, quickly leaving her mouth to focus on her breasts again. Azula flung her head back, lips parting in pleasure as his tongue left a sizzling trail; her blood ignited with searing heat, sweeping through her and their hips continued to meet in synchronization, their wet skin slapping audibly.

Something was building inside her body and her stomach clenched with burning fire as Aang continued to rock himself against her gently, Azula bucking her hips against his own in tandem; he quickened his rhythm, a wonderful flush on his cheeks as and began to buck wildly against her, pleasure consuming him. Azula scratched her nails against his chest and back, eyes scrunching shut at the intense, overwhelming heat inside her.

All of a sudden, Aang's tattoos and eyes glowed blinding light.  **"Azula,"**  the Avatar groaned out in lifetimes of power and then he shuddered, his essence spilling out of him as his manhood pulsed inside her. The sight and feel of the Avatar losing himself inside her caused Azula to fall apart under him, her body arching into him with such force that his glowing hand had to hold her down; her climax was intense and beyond satisfying, lulling her into sweet bliss as the glow from the Avatar State faded.

They laid on top of each other, panting heavily, hot breath colliding with each other's faces. After several moments, Aang eventually rolled over and Azula followed his lead, nesting into his chest, kissing his torso lightly; his hand traced the side of her body and the other stroked her hair, twirling strands between his fingers.

"Thank you," she whispered, leaning up to press her lips against his own. "I told you that you would enjoy it."

Aang smiled at her. "You weren't wrong," he looked exhausted, gray eyes shadowed.

"How long was I out?"

"Five days."

"Did you rest at all while I was unconscious?"

"You were more important."

"You didn't attempt to heal your hands and fingers because of me?"

"I didn't want to waste any energy that wasn't necessary."

Azula felt touched by his words, kissing him again. "Well, sleep now, Aang. I'm okay and you need the rest more than I do."

"But- "

"You may be the Avatar, but you are still a man; you haven't slept in days and need to rest." Azula laid her head on his chest, her hair spilling over in a protective curtain. "Rest, Aang, it's okay. You don't have to keep fighting it, now."

His breathing evened out and he stilled after several moments; she felt her eyes become heavy because she was tired again. Their intense love-making had exhausted her more than she had thought possible. Azula would have to decide what she would do with the traitors, Mai and Ty Lee, but she would contemplate the problem later because now, she was more than content to lay in Aang's embrace; her golden eyes fluttered shut as the sound and feel of Aang's deep breathing lulled her into a peaceful slumber.

XxXxXxXxXxX

"I know that she is mad at us, but I wasn't expecting her furious reaction even though I should have been." Ty Lee hugged her knees and placed her head on her resting hands, features pulled into a sad frown.

Zuko sighed heavily, looking away from where the sun reflected off of the lake. "Well…" he trailed off, honestly unsure of what to say; he had been expecting that, if not more.

"I'm surprised that it wasn't worse. I kept waiting for lightning to fry us." Mai said dryly, twirling her shuriken, "I mean, that's what I thought would happen. I'm thankful that it didn't because frankly, I like being alive even though life can be so dull."

"I wouldn't call the experiences you've faced recently dull, Mai," he pointed out. "Maybe once you tell her that the reason why I banished you both for treason was that of her, she'll be more inclined to forgive you."

Mai raised a dark, dubious eyebrow. "And has Azula ever been someone who forgives?"

Zuko shrugged, "Well, not really, but she has changed. Tell her what happened: the reason why she got to stay at the Caldera in the Mental Health Ward, besides using her mental state as a defense against Kuei's probing, was because you two had agreed to turn yourselves over to the Earth Kingdom as reparations for the Great War because that's all that Kuei wanted. Then, of course, you obviously escaped before the transfer and were on the run for years before you were then captured by…  _Dark."_

Ty Lee perked up, "Yeah, surely Azula will forgive us once we tell her what happened!"

Before Zuko could respond Katara approached from where she had been conversing with his mother; she then suddenly sat down next to him. "I wouldn't count on it; she did say that when she feels better, she'll kill you both."

Zuko rolled his eyes as Mai shrugged and Ty Lee groaned, choosing to look around the cove. His mother, Toph, and Samir – or was it his niece? He had no idea now because everything was so convoluted - were playing near the lake and he felt a small smile curl his lips. Samir and his mother clearly got along and Zuko had a feeling that it was because his mother and Azula were so similar – Samir would latch onto her because of the familiarity. The Imperial Firebenders and Yu Yan Archers stood vigilante, searching for any potential threats that could befall their Fire Lord and Zuko reminded himself that he would reward them later for their efforts.

Sokka and Suki had disappeared into the forest in search of food, but he knew that that was actually coded for having sex. He was honestly surprised they hadn't had a couple of kids yet; they had been together since the Great War ended, married only, from what he knew, a year after Sozin's Comet. Zuko, Katara, Mai, and Ty Lee were huddled together under a thick tree and from where he sat, with Mai and Ty Lee across from him and Katara leaning against him on his right, he could see dried blood stained into the bark of the tree, but he didn't think that the others noticed.

"Sorry, Zuko, for trying to- well, you know, trying to kill you." Ty Lee said sheepishly, barely meeting his eyes. "We didn't have a choice; the poison was… it was too strong – much too strong."

"Attempting to kill Agni's anointed ruler is a crime punishable with death," he raised his one eyebrow, watching as Ty Lee paled while Mai didn't look surprised by his words, merely resigned. "You don't need to worry. I don't hold either of you accountable for your actions."

"Thank you, Zuko," the acrobat gushed out, color swiftly returning to her cheeks.

Mai seemed to squirm slightly before she sighed. "Sorry for trying to kill you, as well, Zuko, and thank you for your mercy; it is undeserved."

"Thank you and you're welcome," he shrugged. "I can't say that I felt truly surprised by it, regardless of the poison in your minds."

"What do you mean?" Katara demanded, "What are you talking about?"

"It wasn't the first time when someone close to me had tried to kill me; they were the second-closest, though," he admitted and felt Katara grab his hand in her own, her soft and gentle fingers cooling his fiery skin.

"Well, let's see," Mai began to count off. "There was Azula multiple times, Ozai, and then us. Oh, wait, you told me about that guy, Jet in Ba Sing Se who tried to kill you."

"Wait, Jet?" Katara looked up at him anxiously, her hand tightening around his own. "Dual hook swords, shaggy hair, intense hatred for anyone borne of Fire, and always chewed a straw of wheat?"

Zuko frowned, remembering the play on Ember Island all of those years ago; he had forgotten that the others had known Jet, but they had never known about Zuko's history with him. "Yes, that's him; he introduced himself to Uncle Iroh and me when we were on the ferry to Ba Sing Se, seeking shelter from Azula's hunt. I know instinctively that there was something… off with him, and rejected his offer to join his Freedom Fighters, how you could even call three non-bending children 'fighters' I don't fucking know. Anyway, after I shunned the offer, he somehow found out that Uncle Iroh and I were Firebenders; he had no evidence, but he just knew."

"You don't know how?" Ty Lee questioned; her eyes were thoughtful. "Did either of you firebend?"

"No, of course not- " he abruptly remembered how his uncle had used his firebending to heat his cold tea during the last peaceful meeting with Jet. "Actually, Uncle Iroh used his firebending to heat his tea; Jet must have seen it."

"Then, what happened?" Katara asked softly, "Did he do something?"

"Oh, absolutely," he shook his head at the event from all of those years ago. "He was a fucking fool; he brazenly attacked me in front of dozens of witnesses, trying to kill me, demanding that I use my firebending. I beat him, of course, but before I could do anything to him, the Dai Li stepped out of the shadows and took him away." Katara's blue eyes were shadowed with something so Zuko squeezed her hand. "When we saw that horrid play by the Ember Island Players days before Sozin's Comet, I learned what they did to him, how they warped his mind, and how he was eventually killed. I'm sorry, Katara."

She shook her head, "No, don't be, Zuko. It was his own fault, honestly. He was a very tortured person and I had wished that I could have helped him, but I wasn't able to; his hatred burned brighter than any potential love." Zuko focused on that last word, fearing the depths behind it; his one hand that wasn't holding Katara's clenched into a tight fist and fire burned in his lungs, begging to be unleashed through his lips like the Dragons themselves.

Ty Lee raised an eyebrow, leaning forward. "So, how did you know him, Katara? It sounds like that you knew him… intimately."

"I did not lay with him!" Katara exclaimed and immediately flushed, hiding her face with both of her hands; Zuko missed the feel of her hand in his own. "I was infatuated with him, too blinded by my feelings to see his true nature."

Ty Lee giggled at her words and when Mai chuckled slightly, Zuko refrained from speaking, knowing that if he did, he would make Katara feel worse – because that fucking bastard didn't deserve her!

Thankfully, both Sokka and Suki suddenly stumbled out of the forest, clothes rumpled, faces flushed, and eyes bright; they calmly walked into the cove and Zuko, Katara, Mai, and Ty Lee followed.

"Sorry, couldn't find any food, you guys." Sokka tried to lie smoothly; he was not successful.

Toph glared at him, "Whatever helps you sleep better, Snoozles. Next time, why don't you just- " she suddenly stood straight up and stared at the cave, blood drained from her face, eyes wide.

Zuko's own eyes widened in dread, fearing the worst. Had Azula fallen unconscious? "What is it? What's wrong? Are they okay? What happened?" He and the others rushed to Toph's side.

"Is Azula all right?" His mother demanded, "What about Avatar Aang?"

"They're both fine," Toph choked out and shuddered, eyes spasming shut. "It's just that they are," her head moved to where Samir was looking up at her with fearful eyes and Toph calmed down. "They are doing the hanky-panky," she finished, no longer shivering.

Zuko blinked and stared at the cave where, apparently, his little sister and best friend were engaged in sex. After overcoming his shock in several moments, he shrugged; he was, by no means, a virgin. He already knew that Aang loved his sister and since it seemed that Azula shared the sentiments, then he wasn't going to stop it. He looked at his mother and saw that she stared at the cave with wide eyes before a smile graced her face; she recovered from the revelation of what Azula was currently doing with the same speed that he had.

"Wait just a minute," Sokka spluttered, astonishment carved into his face and Zuko noticed that Katara looked just as shocked. "Aang and… and her are doing that? What the fu- " he shriveled at Zuko's mother glare, cutting himself off.

"Yes, that's what I just said, Snoozles," Toph snapped. "Yes, Twinkletoes and… Azula are doing the hanky-panky!"

"What's the hanky-panky?" Samir asked innocently, gray eyes peering up at them all, and Zuko inhaled sharply.

Silence; nobody answered for several seconds, panic tangible in the air.

"It's a game, sweetheart," his mother said gently. "That's all that it is."

"Can I play it?"

He was amazed when his mother shook her head patiently. "No, my dear. It's a game that only adults can play; children can't do it."

An adorable frown graced Samir's face. "Fine, but when I'm all grown-up, I'm going to play it!" Sokka laughed boisterously at her words and both Katara and Suki simultaneously elbowed him harshly in both of his sides.

"Come, my dear. Let's go back to the lake," his mother gently pulled Samir along and left the rest of them standing in awkward silence.

"Well, I can't say that I'm too shocked," Mai declared flatly. "Azula had always said when we were younger before her dreams were dashed when she was set to be married to Admiral Zhao that- "

"Wait, Azula was going to marry him?" Zuko asked in astonishment, in horror; he dimly noticed that Katara's own face reflected the horror that he felt. "You can't be serious!"

"She told us about it," Ty Lee admitted, looking solemn. "She said that it was the most horrifying news that she had ever been given. Your father didn't give her a choice- "

Flames flickered at Zuko's fingertips. "He never gave anyone a choice!"

"Azula was ecstatic when news reached the Caldera that Admiral Zhao had been killed at the Siege of the Northern Water Tribe."

Zuko flashed back to watching Zhao being pulled under by the glowing water and smiled slightly. "I was ultimately relieved, too, when he died."

"So, what was her dream before… Zhao?" Katara asked quietly, looking interested.

"Probably nothing except world domination," Sokka muttered and Zuko glared at him.

Mai smirked, "No, it wasn't, at least this time. She always declared that if she were ever to be married, it would be to a handsome, powerful man, one who could defeat her in a sparring match. Those were her conditions."

"Of course, it was," he chuckled and rolled his eyes. "That sounds exactly like her."

A smile twitched at Katara's lips. "Zhao was certainly none of those."

"Indeed," Ty Lee giggled. "And who is more powerful than the Avatar? No one is! Avatar Aang is quite handsome, too, and he holds all of the power in the Realms and because of it, Azula is literally the most powerful woman in the world!"

Zuko suddenly laughed, ignoring Katara's suddenly pale face. "That's right. Nobody could ever deny her because if they did, they would risk the Avatar's wrath befalling them. Her dream became a reality," he shook his head without malice because Azula always seemed to come out as the victor.

"Aren't you pissed off?" Sokka asked incredulously, looking at him in shock. "How can you not be?"

"No, I'm happy for them," he shrugged and saw Katara listening closely. "If you truly think about it, both Aang and Azula have had very hard and scar-inducing lives. Regardless of the past, they both deserve to be happy and if they find that happiness in each other, then I won't complain."

"That doesn't even take into account the political ramifications." Mai pointed out, "An Avatar himself marrying a- "

"How do we know this goes to marriage?" Katara asked quickly, "It might not."

Toph snorted, "You haven't been around either of them, Sugar Queen. Trust me, they will be married, I guarantee it. Twinkletoes wants her as his Mother of the Air Nomads and no other."

Katara swallowed and looked deprived of utterance and Suki spoke. "What political ramifications are you talking about?"

Mai raised an eyebrow, "It's always an Avatar's descendants who marry into Royal Bloodlines, but never the Avatar himself. This is unprecedented: the full power of an Avatar becoming intertwined with a Royal Bloodline."

"Oh, come on!" Sokka cried out, "Why is it always the Fire Nation? Why couldn't it have been us or the Earth Kingdom? Why did you and Aang break up, Katara, just why?"

"Calm down, Sokka," he ordered. "It's only the- "

"No! It's unfair, Zuko." Sokka waved his arms wildly, "Your line already has the blood of Avatar Roku and now you gain the blood of the most powerful Avatar to ever exist?"

Katara interjected, "Gran Gran has said that, from both sides of our family, we are descended from Avatar Kuruk, Sokka. We have the blood of an Avatar in our veins, too, in our line."

"That's different! From the stories, every Water Tribesmen's line has Kuruk's blood!"

"My father said that he was descended from Kyoshi," Suki suddenly said. "Remember, Sokka?"

Sokka frowned, "Yes, but you doubted the truth in that statement. You said that it was likely that he said that so that you would feel confident enough to join the Kyoshi Warriors. Zuko is already descended from the most powerful line in the world, the line of Sozin! Then, on top of that, he has Roku's blood, who we all know was very powerful, and then he will get Aang's, who could obliterate any other Avatar from history because he's so powerful!"

"It's not my line that gains Aang's blood!" Zuko inhaled slowly, "The main branch of the bloodline is mine because I am the eldest and the son. Azula's branch and line will only matter if something happens to mine where no heir is found to take the Dragon's Throne."

"But what if something happens to you, Zuko?" Sokka questioned, "What if during this new war you die and- " he avoided Katara's smack, "have no children? Then Azula will take the Dragon's Throne and the Fire Nation will become even more powerful because of Aang!"

Zuko blinked to ease his temper. "I'm not going anywhere, Sokka. I'm a survivor and even if something did happen, then Uncle Iroh could still take the Dragon's Throne if I demand it. You have nothing to worry about. I'm not happy about the match because of politics and raising the Fire Nation's power, raising the Fire Royal Bloodline's might."

"Then what are you happy about?" Sokka asked incredulously. "I don't understand."

"I love my sister and have always wished for her to become who she was meant to be, not the weapon of our father's. Aang is my best friend and I want him to be happy instead of remaining the loneliest person in the world. To me, it seems that Aang and Azula have found those two things and even more in each other. The fact that it is my sister and best friend doesn't change that. In fact, I believe that it makes it even better."

Sokka blinked and shook his head in apparent disbelief. "Damn, I hadn't thought of that."

"Obviously," Toph muttered.

"I gotta say, though, if it were Katara and my best friend, I would shove my space sword so far up his ass that- "

"I think that they understand, Sokka." Suki rubbed his arm and Zuko swallowed, eyes darting towards Katara and he felt himself yearn for something more. Sokka had found Suki, Aang had found Azula, and now Zuko wanted to find Katara.

Golden eyes met oceanic blue, fire versus water, and Zuko suddenly realized how foolish that he was acting. He cleared his throat, ignoring Ty Lee staring at him with wide eyes. "Guards!"

"Yes, my liege?"

"Anything suspicious? Any sign of trouble?"

"No, my liege. We have stayed ever-vigilant and no activity has raised suspicion."

"Return to post."

"Of course, my liege."

He saw Toph chuckling quietly over his distraction and knew that he couldn't make a mistake like that again.

His father had been too close to murdering Azula and Ozai could harm any of them. He couldn't afford to get distracted. The only thing that mattered was his father's death.

XxXxXxXxXxX

**Phew! That was a tough one. I hope that you all enjoyed it. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think. I'd really appreciate it!**

****Aang, Azula, Toph, and Samir are ambushed by Ozai, Vaatu, Agni, Devi, the Dai Li, and the treacherous Fire Sages! Ozai merged with Vaatu and Toph overestimated her capabilities and was narrowly saved from death by both Samir and Azula; she was knocked out of the fray. Ozai overpowered Azula, nearly killing her. Aang is unable to do anything until it's too late because he had been dealing with all of the Dai Li, Fire Sages, and Agni and Devi. The reason why he didn't go into the Avatar State to smack them all around is that he was afraid of Agni and Devi. Vaatu had shared with them how to permanently slay the Avatar Spirit – killing Aang while he is in the Avatar State – and he wasn't going to risk it with such powerful opponents who know the 'weakness' of the Avatar. When he defeats them, he is just in time to see Azula get struck by the lightning bolt. Of course, Aang loses his shit and enters the Avatar State in a terrible rage. He pounds into Ozai but just before he can enter the Spirit World to whatever he was going to do, Toph alerts him that Azula is still alive. He rushes back and because of it, Ozai and Vaatu escape; quite short-sighted but he wasn't thinking straight. (Yes, Aang's use of airbending can slice off Ozai's arm because pressurized air is extremely powerful!)**

**Toph is sent to the Fire Nation because Aang is paranoid and wants the Gaang with him. After he heals Azula, Samir reveals that she thinks of Azula as her mommy. What other reaction would she have to such a traumatic event? Remember, Samir is 6-years-old and her whore mother abandoned her. Azula is the first woman to truly treat her kindly and teach her things, even playing with her. A child always wants a mother and Samir naturally began to think of Azula as such, and because of Aang's involvement, of how he gave her airbending and would be her Master, she began to think of him as her daddy for the same reasons. It makes sense from a child's perspective and Aang had already begun to make the same conclusions about how he would need to raise Samir since she is the only Airbender in the world besides himself. (Later on, when she awakens, Azula accepts the change because she has grown fond of the child.)**

****Zuko thinks about how good his life has been. Let's be honest, he has had a shitty life, but it turned out pretty okay. He could have had it much worse. He was borne of generations of royalty, the blood of Avatar Roku and Fire Lords in his veins, he was borne a son and a Firebender, he had a loving mother, cousin, uncle, and a somewhat loving grandfather and sister. The only downside was his father who was a monster and I'm not discounting how horrible that is – it's terrible. Of course, things became much worse for him when his mom left, grandfather died, Azula being molded by Ozai, his uncle vanishing for years, and then he was banished. In a lot of ways, Zuko's saving grace was his banishment. If he hadn't been banished, I guarantee that he would have eventually become his father reborn. Zuko is old enough and mature enough now to realize these things and he recognizes that in spite of everything, he's had a pretty good life.**

**Toph arrives at the Caldera in exhaustion and reveals everything! Everyone's reactions are about what you would suspect, and I hope that they seemed realistic. Iroh is named regent of the Fire Nation for an indefinite period of time while Zuko joins Aang and the Gaang. (I wonder if Iroh will order that tea be the official drink of the Fire Nation.)**

****Aang talks with Samir about scars and then the Gaang shows up out-of-the-blue! Aang attacks and chaos ensues for a little bit. After the dust settles, Aang realizes that Mai and Ty Lee were, indeed, under Vaatu's influence and frees them from the poison. Samir is revealed to be an Airbender and Aang explains why he can't give waterbending to Sokka, why he can't just give a bending element to any non-bender. Honestly, children are the primary targets for giving an element through energybending because children are young and malleable in their beliefs and actions. Adults and teenagers are very stubborn and unable to change on a fundamental level; if you reach a kid quick enough, you could bypass needing to change at a fundamental level by changing the level itself from what it was going to be.**

****Aang finally stops running from his feelings and confesses to Azula when she wakes up and that leads to them having sex. I hope that it seemed realistic because that's how I envisioned it happening. (Yes, several of the quotes were based on quotes from Shakespeare's plays.)**

****Zuko and all of the others learn of what Aang and Azula are doing and various reactions are given. If you think about it, any of the Kings and rulers of the Four Nations would want the Avatar to marry their daughters and sisters to strength the Royal Bloodlines because that's what people did. So, of course, Sokka is worried about the Fire Nation's power because they already have Avatar Roku's blood in the Fire Royal Bloodline – but that is through a descendant of Roku, not Roku himself who married into it – and then Aang is 'doing it' with Azula and they could beget children accidentally – and that is a true Avatar, not a descendant of Aang's.**

**Well, I think that is everything. I hope that you all enjoyed it and I would really appreciate it if you left a comment to tell me what you thought about it.**

_**Stay Safe** _  
**ButtonPusher**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! They all made my day; I really appreciate it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender**

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The smoke slithered through the cave, filling Azula's nose with the musty scent while her soul filled with contentment. Everyone save for the Imperial Firebenders and Yu Yan archers were huddled around the campfire, safe from the darkness of night that had overtaken Agni's light, and were satisfied from their meals. Even though Azula was surrounded by several who wouldn't bat an eye if she were killed and the two traitors, who should feel blessed because Aang had convinced her to give them an opportunity, she was also surrounded by those who loved her: Aang, Samir, her mother, and her brother.

She leaned her head back against Aang's bare chest, moving to press her lips against his pectoral and smiled almost greedily when he hummed against her hair, his arms tightening around her deliciously; she didn't care that they were in the presence of the others. The moment when Aang had opened the cave after they had awakened from their shared slumber, it had been immediately apparent to Azula that everyone except Samir had known that she and Aang had had sex. Their faces had been so amusing to observe; the peasants and Suki had looked appalled while Toph herself had been a curious mixture of amusement and revulsion. Mai and Ty Lee hadn't had the courage to look at her but Azula had glimpsed the shock in their bodies, the disbelief.

Her brother had, to her surprise, followed everyone else's lead and said nothing about their discovery, instead handing a black cloak to Aang; her nails had left a lot of marks on Aang's chest and back, leaving physical, tangible evidence of their lovemaking. Azula's mother had been suspiciously misty-eyed when their golden eyes had met, when Samir had jumped at her, pressing her face into her leg, squeezing her small arms around her leg as tight as she could.

Currently, the peasants, Suki, Toph, and her brother sat across the fire from them; her mother sat next to Aang, smiling brilliantly in their direction most frequently as Azula was held against his chest, his legs stretching past her hips. Mai and Ty Lee sat on her mother's other side and nobody had said anything for quite some time, each encompassed within their own thoughts, the sound of Appa's loud snores the only sound in the cave save for the crackling of the flames from the fire.

"Is she still asleep?" Azula asked quietly, golden eyes riveted on the flickering fire.

Aang nodded, his face brushing against her hair. "Yes, her breathing hasn't changed. I'd say that she loves sleeping on Appa's tail; she sleeps soundly on it."

"Just as you do," she pointed out softly. "Like… father like daughter."

"Yes, I suppose so."

"How are your hands?" Azula moved her eyes from the flames to look at them, staring at the dried blood and swollen skin, the inflamed digits. "Are they better?"

"My fingers have more mobility."

"I know they do," she smirked devilishly, remembering what he had been able to do with those fingers, how they had burned against her body more than any fire.

Aang's chest rumbled against her back quietly. "You have a dirty mind."

"Only for you, Avatar," she purred, ignoring the peasants' gob-smacked expressions from across the fire.

He stiffened against her and she delighted in the feel of him leaning down to gently kiss her neck, tongue darting out to wet her skin. Her eyes shut and she tilted her head to the side, sighing as she encouraged him to continue his amorous advances.

"Hey, oogies!" Azula's eyes snapped open, "None of that!" The male peasant was pointing at them in disgust, waving his finger wildly, accusingly, shuddering in time with his words. "None of us want or need to see or hear any of that shit!"

Azula glared at him when Aang left her neck with a slight sucking sound, ceasing his ministrations. "Hypocrite," she hissed; the male peasant leaned against Suki, head sprawled in her lap, one of his arms laying against her stomach, fingers suspiciously absent. "As if you are one to talk!"

"Well, that's different!" The male peasant indignantly informed, face red as he was obviously caught.

"How is this different than what you have obviously been doing?" Aang demanded, his voice brimming with authority, something that caused arousal to spread through her.

"It just is!" The male peasant spluttered, raising himself from Suki's lap, waving his arm in their direction, face turning green. "It's me and Suki, which is more than fine, but you two aren't okay! It's gross!"

"Sokka!" Suki cried out and smacked her husband on the back of the head. "Stop it!"

Azula glared at the male peasant and felt relief when both her mother and brother glared at him, too. She even felt surprised and almost grateful that Mai and Ty Lee looked outraged on her behalf. Apparently, they must still care for her; that was most interesting. The urge to bend lightning into him was intense and she began to feel her fingers curl, felt the sparks begin to spark across her hands, but Aang clasped his larger hands around her own, smothering the cold-blooded fire.

"And tell me, how is it gross, Sokka?" Aang demanded, body tense behind her own. "I love and trust her."

"Are you insane?" The male peasant cried out incredulously, eyes bursting with disbelief and near-scorn. "You can't be serious, Aang!"

"I am utterly serious," his voice darkened behind her and Azula delighted in the unease that crossed the female peasant's face, but her idiot brother seemed immune to it.

"But you can't be! I understand the… you know, the physical appeal, but it's Azula; she's crazy and insane! For fuck's sake, Aang, she was locked up in a Mental Health Ward for years. Have you forgotten that she tried to kill us all multiple times, and almost killed you beneath Ba Sing Se, and almost killed Zuko, her own brother during Sozin's Comet? She can't be trusted or loved; she's a manipulative, sadistic, evil- " the male peasant was cut off with a choked gasp, freezing in place, agony carved into his fearful face; his wife placed her hands on his cheeks, bemusement on her own face.

No sound was heard for moments; all that remained was a stunned silence that permeated the cave.

Aang had raised his hand from her own at the male peasant, fingers curled and Azula suddenly understood that he was using bloodbending, the dangerous waterbending art that he had told her about.

"Aang!" The female peasant exclaimed in horror but trailed off when Azula felt Aang draw himself up behind her and she could only imagine his expression; she could feel his body shake with restrained anger.

"I don't want to hear that ever again; she's changed, and I love her. Do you understand? If you do say something like that again, I will banish you and Suki from the Gaang." Azula watched as Aang's hand dropped and the male peasant then lurched forward, features white. "If you cannot, if any of you cannot deal with the true fact that I love Azula, then you can journey back to your homes, wherever they may be. None of you have the right to judge my choices. Sokka, you clearly think that you know me, but now, as a man, it is clear to me that, perhaps, you never truly did."

A quote that her uncle had constantly recited in her younger years echoed in Azula's mind:  _'There are three things that all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.'_  She felt many things from Aang's declaration: pride, satisfaction, affection, and lust. He had been unashamed in showing that he loved her.

"You know," her brother suddenly said. "If anyone should have been telling them to stop, it's me and our mother. I mean, after all, Azula is my younger sister and Aang is my best friend, with whom she is… yeah." Zuko finished lamely, hand gesturing towards them from across the fire in a knowing way.

"Speaking of younger sisters, Sparky." Toph grinned devilishly, mischief dancing in her milky eyes as her toes curled towards Zuko and the female peasant's close-but-not-to-close bodies.

Azula saw the female peasant flush slightly and look down at her feet while Zuko hardly reacted, only turning to glare at Toph in response. She was impressed; her brother had gotten better.

"Wait a minute," the male peasant had recovered from Aang's threat. "Younger sister? What do you…" his eyes darted to his own sister and Zuko's position. After he blinked, he gasped loudly, pointing his finger at them accusingly. "What? No, no, no! This can't be happening! What the fuck? Did she give you her maidenhead? I can't believe that you two would- "

"That's enough," Zuko snapped, face pulled into a tight frown, scar seemingly stretched across his face, making him look sinister; Azula was even more impressed. "You've been talking a lot, but now it's my turn. You have taken much out of context. You think that I care for your sister, for Katara? Fine, I do, Sokka, I care about her a lot. She's an amazing person; she's beautiful, fierce, gentle, caring, loving, kind, selfless, and her smile should be a wonder of the Four Nations."

Azula saw the female peasant blush heavily while swallowing, but the male peasant looked scandalized. "She's my sister, Zuko! How dare- "

"How dare I?" Her brother hissed, "How dare you keep acting like a child when none of us are, save for Samir? You are going to be in charge of an entire nation soon, Sokka. After all, Chief Arnook and your father could desire rest and pass their Chiefdoms onto you. You might even become a father soon because, with all of the sex that you and Suki rightly engage in, she could easily become pregnant." Everyone was quiet as Zuko inhaled slowly and it was noticeable to Azula's eyes that her brother's temper had cooled. "Aang has had enough and I have, too. Look, I can understand your need to protect your younger sister because I suffer from the same affliction." Azula rolled her eyes at her brother's dramatic words but didn't say anything. "Katara and I are not in a… what would you call it?"

"A relationship," she offered.

"Yes, a relationship. Even if we somehow or someway were, you know that I would never intentionally try to hurt her, just as I know that Aang would never intentionally hurt my sister."

"I think that's enough." Suki cut through sternly, a frown pulling at her lips as her hand grabbed her husband's. "We've all been through a lot lately and I think our tempers are nearly frayed."

Azula felt Aang nod behind her. "She's right, Sokka. I don't regret what I said to you, but I do regret how I said it and when I did; my emotions are frizzled from Ozai and  _Dark's_  attack."

"Almost all of us care for you a lot, Sokka. I know that I would take a sword for you without hesitation." Zuko looked around, "I'm pretty certain that the same could be applied to almost everyone else."

The male peasant didn't speak; he was pale, and his eyes stared at the ground.

"Being child-like and funny is a great gift, Master Sokka," her mother stared at the peasant sympathetically. "When applied timely, it is an art form that rivals bending itself. You are a rare individual from what I have observed; you are a genius, a funny and charming leader, and a Master Swordsman, amongst many more qualities. I beg you, hold onto those traits with everything that you have and then hold onto them even more." Her mother's smile was soft as her gaze darted to Zuko. "In spite of my son's candid declaration, indeed, he is correct: adults need to act like adults, mature in their contentions and mature in their actions. There are times when your humor is needed, but not right now; it's up to you to discover those moments. This is war, Master Sokka, true war. Your entire group, including my children, never saw a glimpse of the true depths of war, and now I fear that my husband will bring about something that makes the Great War seem piteous in retrospection." Her mother's golden eyes connected to Azula's own for a brief moment. "I can understand your wariness towards my daughter; she has committed vile crimes in the past for my husband and she epitomized everything that you were taught as children to despise. I implore you, all of you to give Azula a chance as Avatar Aang did; he eventually forgave her, and he had more reasons to despise her than any of you do."

Silence bore down on everyone; nobody knew how to disperse the awkwardness, not even Azula herself.

The male peasant took it upon himself, looking desperate for a change of conversation. "So, we've got myself and Suki, Aang and Azula, and then, potentially, Zuko and my sister. That's interesting, isn't it?"

"I'd add in Mai and Ty Lee, Snoozles," Toph snickered. "They are awfully close, you know?"

Azula glanced at the two traitors, refraining from the instinctual urge to hurl lightning at them, and watched as Mai rolled her eyes. "That's amusing, but not true," she said dryly.

"Plus, such a union is a deep sin in the Fire Nation, anyway." Ty Lee said cheerfully, "Even if we felt that way about each other, we wouldn't do anything about it; it would bring deep shame towards our Noble Houses."

Toph grinned, "Well, since I'm the little rebel out of our little, newly-reformed group outside of Ursa, Mai, Ty Lee, Azula, and Samir, I have one thing to say to everyone: keep it down!" Azula's lips twitched as the awkward atmosphere was swiftly dissolved as Toph pointed her fingers at all of them. "Do any of you know what it feels like to experience, to be conscious of everything that you guys do, that you engage in? I know exactly what's going on with each and every one of you all of the time!"

Azula felt Aang shift behind her, drawing her further into his chest, his delicious warmth. "I believe that I might know how you feel, Toph."

"Yeah right, Twinkletoes!" Toph snorted, huffing through her pursed lips while the male peasant chuckled, the memory of the past minutes gone. "You're who is the worst one out of all of us, and that includes Snoozles! I mean, earlier when you and Lightning Psycho were engaged in you-know-what, that was intense; my feet are still aching from all of the vibrations that you had produced. Airbender, my ass!"

The echo of the male peasant and her own brother's laughter rang in her ears and Azula turned her head back to smirk up at Aang. "She's right, you know? That was definitely intense," she wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and pulled his head down, darting up to snare his lips in a quick, heated kiss; her tongue stroked his own and she delighted in how his arms tightened around her body.

"Stop it!" Samir's voice drifted from Appa's tail and Azula pulled back as the laughter grew in potency. "I'm sleepy!"

When the laughter continued, Azula narrowed her eyes; the campfire suddenly blazed, blue flames thrashing wildly and the laughter immediately stopped, eyes flashing towards her in wariness.

"As Samir had said, stop it," she dared them with her golden eyes, specifically the male peasant, to test her. "She is trying to sleep."

"Thank you, mommy," her… daughter –  _her daughter!_  – said from Appa's tail and she could hear the weariness in the tone. "I'm going back to sleep, now."

"You know," her eyes darted towards Mai's bold and curious ones, observing the pinched eyebrows. "I can't believe that you adopted her. We all know why Avatar Aang did, but why did you?"

Aang's hands wrapped around her own in warning and Azula sighed; all eyes stared at her expectantly, her mother looking particularly attentive, and while she wanted to ignore Mai by shooting her with lightning, she knew that wasn't an option with Aang near.

"She was an orphan," she answered, deciding to be honest; it couldn't hurt. "She never knew her real parents and eventually, she was purchased as a servant by Nobles in Ba Sing Se; she was treated more like a slave, it seemed. Samir needed a family and since she's an Airbender, Aang would naturally adopt her. Since I am greatly fond of Aang, and since I like Samir, I decided to, as well; she is quite clever and resourceful, a good kid."

"You know, she does actually look and act like you two." Suki said quietly, "We can all see the resemblance she shares with Aang and that's because of the energybending; she even kind of acts like him when I first met him on Kyoshi Island."

Aang's breath rustled her hair. "Yes, I acted care-free and innocent then, just as Samir should."

"Indeed," Suki nodded her head. "She acts more like you, Azula, though; she has a maturity that reminds me of you."

"I noticed it, as well," her mother commented. "It's quite striking."

Azula glanced down at the arrow-tattooed arms that were wrapped around her stomach. "Yes, it's one of the things that drew me to her, I suppose. I intend to guide her and help her flourish. I don't want her to make any of the mistakes that I did."

"That's noble of you," Suki met her gaze. "I think that you did the right thing."

She blinked, "Thank you."

Zuko leaned forward, "Yes, you did do the right thing, Azula. I'm changing the topic; something has been bothering me."

The female peasant placed a hand on his arm. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"No, it's okay, Katara. I just had a question for my sister. How did you do that?"

Azula rolled her eyes, "Do what? You must be more specific."

"The campfire, when your flames exploded," her brother gestured at it. "The only time when I have ever felt your fire with that intensity before was during Sozin's Comet."

"I can concur with that," the female peasant added quietly.

"I've grown stronger, Zuzu," she said sweetly, a small laugh escaping her when her brother just raised his one eyebrow in response.

"She mastered her chakras, that's how she did it, Zuko," Aang said from behind her, his chest rumbling with his words. "I helped her while I did it myself with Guru Pathik."

"Wait a minute," the female peasant looked just as baffled as her brother, Zuko, and Suki; Azula's mother, Mai, and Ty Lee all looked confused. "Anybody can do that with their chakras? I thought that only the Avatar could do that."

Toph smacked her forehead with her palm. "Damn. I knew that there was something else that I had forgotten to tell all of you."

The male peasant groaned, "Are you sure that you didn't forget anything else?"

"I told you all of the important stuff, Snoozles."

"This sounds pretty important, Toph!"

"It slipped my mind, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well a lot of stuff happens to slip your- "

"Anyone can master their chakras," Aang thankfully, sagely interrupted the verbal sparring match. "By doing so, one reaches their full bending potential; for those of the Fire Royal Bloodline, it would be as if Sozin's Comet was blazing through the heavens. In fact, the reason why Azula… why she was even alive after… Ozai's lightning strike was that of her mastered chakras; it augmented her healing capabilities."

"That's incredible," the female peasant breathed out. "Think of the possibilities for Waterbenders while healing!"

"Can you teach me, Aang?" Zuko asked seriously, "I would like to learn it."

Azula smirked, "You're just jealous that my firebending is much stronger than yours, now."

"Guilty," her brother shrugged honestly, and she felt proud of him. "The Fire Lord's firebending should be one of, if not the strongest in the world behind only the Avatar's. So, can you teach me, Aang?"

"I, or actually Azula and I, can teach all of you," he replied calmly. "I must warn you: to do this, you will have to conquer your darkest, deepest, and oldest fears. Your shames, regrets, emotions, failures, and mistakes will all stare you down and you will be unable to look away, trust me. This will, definitively, be one of the hardest things that you will ever encounter in your life. It's beyond intense and it's easy to become overwhelmed; it happened to me."

Zuko's hands clenched into fists several times and his golden eyes looked above Azula's face to meet Aang's. "I understand the risks, but I'm prepared to deal with them; it's time that I did. Teach me, Aang."

"Count me in," Toph said quietly. "I don't want to be… ashamed anymore. Plus, I like the sound of my earthbending being enhanced."

"I would like to learn this, as well, Avatar Aang," her mother declared intently. "As my wise son said, it's time. I cannot let the past hinder me in my journey towards inner peace any longer."

The female peasant swallowed, "I'd like to do this, too, Aang."

"Can non-benders benefit from doing it?" Suki asked, glancing at her husband. "Could it do anything for Sokka and me?"

"Or Mai and me?" Ty Lee finally spoke, avoiding Azula's piercing eyes.

"If you would like to, you can do it." Aang sighed and it rustled her hair, "You would be like Guru Pathik, then, although I doubt that your lifespan will be extended as his own was; his spiritual energy is immense and his chi flows like that of a bender's even though he is a non-bender."

"Then count me out," the male peasant declared. "What about the rest of you non-benders? Will you do it?" Suki, Mai, and Ty Lee all shook their heads and he grinned. "We are united against this spiritual mumbo-jumbo, Aang."

"That's probably best, honestly," he said, and it caused her to raise a brow. "None of you particularly strike me as wanting to be spiritual-minded."

"Yep. We like our emotions, Aang."

"I'll have a big enough group, anyway."

Azula smirked up at him in a teasing manner. "It seems that you will be pretty busy, Sifu."

Aang chuckled against her back and he leaned down and she stared into his eyes. "Yes, but I'm never too busy for you," he winked and grinned. In spite of her best efforts, she felt a small blush bloom across her cheeks, and she saw his gray eyes sparkle at the sight before he turned back to the group. "Yes, I will teach those of you who want to master your chakras but remember what I said about the trials that you must overcome. We will start tomorrow at after dawn."

Azula smirked at them; she couldn't wait until tomorrow.

"If we start early tomorrow, I'm going to pull a Samir and go to sleep." Toph yawned and entered one of the earth tents. "See you guys in the morning."

"Me too. Goodnight, guys," the male peasant swiftly stood up and entered his own tent while his wife was more gracious.

"I think that I'll join my husband, so goodnight, everyone," she followed the male peasant into the tent.

Azula watched as the two traitors wished everyone a good night, eyes refusing to connect with her own as they entered separate tents.

The only ones who remained around the campfire were herself, her mother and brother, Aang, and the female peasant. Based on her mother's inquiring gaze, Azula knew that a conversation was soon to be at hand, but she was content to lay in Aang's arms until it happened. For several moments, the only sounds were Appa's snores and inaudible conversation coming from Sokka and Suki's tent; the Imperial Firebenders and Yu Yan Archers endured their positions as smoke drifted out of the cave into the darkness of night.

"Aang," the female peasant said hesitantly and Azula stared at her with a brow raised. "Can I speak with you for a moment? I can even heal your hands and fingers if you'd like."

She narrowed her eyes, unable to help but feel possessive of Aang. "Surely, you could speak to him and heal his hands here. After all, this is a safe place; nobody would attempt anything, would they?"

When the peasant seemed deprived of words, Azula felt pleasure but it swiftly faded when Aang gently unwrapped his arms from around her waist. "Yes, I would like that. I'll be there in a moment, Katara." The peasant's relief was tangible as she nodded and stepped out of the cave, refusing to look at Azula. "If you'll excuse me, Zuko and Ursa."

Aang then stood up and Azula refused to admit that she missed his embrace. "Should I be worried, Avatar?"

"Not at all," he smiled down at her briefly. "I would like my hands healed and it's easier for her to do it rather than myself."

"Or you could just go into the Avatar State for a moment and then your hands would be healed instantly."

"That's abusing my power; there's no need for such drastic measures." His gray eyes darkened slightly, "I'm certain that Katara just wants to ask me a… question."

By his tone, Azula knew that it wouldn't be just a question, but she raised no protests when Aang glided out of the cave, the black cloak that her brother had given him sweeping behind him.

"He's a good man," her mother said softly to her side.

Azula nodded in agreement. "He's the best, Avatar or no."

Zuko's eyes darted between them and then he stood up. "I think that I should sleep, too. I'll see you tomorrow for the mastering of chakras. Goodnight, Azula and mother."

"Goodnight, Zuzu," her lips twitched when she heard his sigh of annoyed endearment.

"I'm sorry, my daughter," her mother's words floated in the air and rather than battle, Azula nodded her head. If her mother had said that to her when she had returned to the Caldera before the Ba Sing Se fiasco with Kuei, she would have blasted her with lightning and sapphire flames, but now, with true peace in her heart and soul, she was ready to face the past; the girl who she had been was no more. She had matured and was ready to finally listen to her mother because Azula wanted to be better; she no longer desired to be that monster who her father had shaped her into.

"What is it that you wish to say, mother?"

"I was a terrible mother; it was a shameful performance to abandon you and your brother as children. Regardless of Azulon's words and threats, I should have taken you both with me, but especially you."

"You're right," she whispered, ignoring her mother's startled expression. "I was always stronger than Zuzu in firebending and that's what Ozai valued above all else, but in everything that actually mattered, I was… weaker than him. I can see that now. I broke under Ozai's pressure, bending to his will because I was much too malleable. Zuzu wasn't, though; he didn't break as I did because he was stronger than me. His will surpassed my own; he survived under Ozai, but I did not."

"You have become wise, too, and it is a balm to my soul, my daughter. I am so sorry for not being the mother that I should have been. I failed you and because of my negligence, your father molded you into someone who you were never supposed to be, a monster. Then your mind broke, as a result.

"Everything you say is true," she looked down at her hands, hands that were besmirched with the blood of too many. Indeed, her father had ruined her, but she was thankful for his lessons in spite of everything. Because of them, she had learned the depravity of men and about the lengths that one was willing to go to, to attain one's aspirations. She was certain that without Ozai's teachings, she would have long been dead and wouldn't have this glorious second chance that the winds of fate and Aang had offered her.

"Yet, Azula, in spite of the immense failures of both of your parents, you have grown into a magnificent and strong woman; you overcame your past and mistakes, something most aren't able to do. My precious daughter, you are a gift to me, granted by Agni himself. You are remarkable; you have chosen to adopt a girl in desperate need of a mother and family of your own free will. You have managed to capture the Avatar himself with your love while falling in love with him in return, and you will become the Mother of the Air Nomads, I know it. You will have your own nation and find glory; your very name will echo throughout history, side-by-side with your future husband's."

Azula thought of the scrolls that she had read at the Eastern Air Temple and felt a smile curl across her lips. "I know, mother."

"You have worked diligently to compensate for your past sins, clearing away the red that the Four Nations remember. I am so proud of you, Azula. You are much stronger than I or your father, and while I am aware that you might never forgive me, always remember that I am proud to be your mother." Azula swallowed and felt emotions overcome her, emotions that she had repressed because she had been too angry; she blinked rapidly, trying to disperse the tears that she refused to acknowledge. Her mother gripped her hand and she squeezed back hesitantly. "I love you, Azula. I always have, and I will always be proud of you, no matter the past or future."

A tear fell down her cheek and spilled onto their gripped hands. Azula nodded her head shakily and tried to speak but was unable to; her throat had closed off and several more tears began to drip down her cheeks, splashing onto their joined hands. When her mother suddenly pulled her into a fierce and desperate hug, she didn't fight it. Rather, she chose to embrace her mother for the first time in a decade and a half, squeezing tightly as they were finally reconciled.

"I forgive you," she managed to gasp out, the emotions overwhelming her as her mother gently stroked her back, tears spilling into her hair. A weight that had been bearing down on her for so many years vanished, freeing Azula as she hugged her mother tightly.

Aang had told her on Ember Island that forgiveness wasn't always easy; at times, it might be the hardest thing to pursue. It could feel more grievous to forgive the one who had inflicted wounds upon you than the wounds themselves, yet freedom and peace didn't exist without forgiveness. His words echoed in her mind:  _'Forgiving doesn't make you weak, Azula. It sets you free.'_

Now, as she held her mother, she knew that Aang was correct, his words true; forgiveness had been the key to a reconcilement between herself and her mother, to a freedom that hadn't been felt in what felt like her whole life. Azula had only received this newfound peace because of Aang, had only completed this journey because of him, and now she had to encourage him to forgive his friends, to have his own peace that had been lacking since the Great War ended. Although, in her mind, they all deserved his rage and much more, Aang didn't deserve to have his heart and soul burdened by being in their presence.

He deserved to be like the nation that he was reincarnated into; he deserved to be free.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Aang stepped next to Katara in front of the lake; the water shimmered under Yue's light and the air was crisp, refreshing. The trees swayed gently in the wind and smoke filled his nostrils as it drifted out of the cave, clouding the air with warmth. The Imperial Firebenders and Yu Yan Archers were all scouring the forest for potential threats, leaving them alone.

"What did you want to speak to me about?" He asked, afraid that he already knew the answer.

"Let me heal you first," she whispered and drew water from the lake. Aang held out his hands and sighed in relief when her water-coated hands began to mend his hands and fingers. Slowly, the swelling, pain, and broken skin all faded, and he smiled.

"Thank you, Katara."

She nodded and returned the water to the lake but when she turned back to him, her blue eyes shone with disappointment and anger. "I don't understand, Aang. How could you speak to Sokka like that, reprimanding him in front of everyone? You completely humiliated him! How could you ever do such a thing? I don't understand."

"You're right," he agreed, watching as surprise flashed through her features. "You don't understand and neither does your brother because what you lack in understanding is me. Do you know why? You and Sokka haven't understood me for many years because none of us have truly spoken in years, Katara."

"Aang…" she trailed off, swallowing thickly; her lips parted in dismay.

The rage began to seep through, but he no longer cared. "After I took permanent residence at the Southern Air Temple, I was alone for years. The only company who I had were Appa, Momo, and the spirits of my slain kin. Eventually, I became so lonely and desperate that I called upon my past lives to converse with them; they were there for me when you, Sokka, and Toph weren't. I was isolated and the beginnings of madness plagued me; it's a wonder that I won't be remembered as the Mad Balance-Keeper upon my death. You never messaged me, Katara, you never even tried. You had every opportunity, years' worth, but you didn't. Damn you, I waited and waited for you to write, waited for years because of your weakness!" The pain swarmed him, slipping through the cracks in his mind and he laughed brokenly. "You knew that I was lonely, I had told you as much when I visited your Tribe a year or two after the Great War, but what did you do to the one who you had sworn was family?"

"Aang…" her blue eyes welled with tears, but he was unmoved. If anything, the sight of her tears angered him even more.

"What did you do, Katara?" Aang demanded harshly, fists clenching at his side as the lake responded to his rage, swirling angrily and violently. When she averted her tear-welling eyes, the earth beneath his feet cracked ominously and angry tears welled in his own eyes. "NOTHING! You did nothing! That's what you did," he spat, finishing his own question.

"I'm sorry!" Katara stumbled back as he advanced forward, eyes stormy. "I was a coward! Aang, I'm so sorry!"

He felt his anger reach new heights and he was tempted to give into the power of the Avatar State that was so close. He felt fire roar in his blood, demanding to consume and destroy hindrances as a starved babe. He could feel the air in Katara's lungs. He felt the earth beneath them both, he felt the blood in her body, felt her heart beating rapidly.

He felt his anger cool and stared at her flatly. "I don't know when I will forgive you, if I ever will, if I'm being honest." Katara's crestfallen expression didn't shake his blunt resolution, "You and your brother have much to atone for."

"I understand," she whispered, swallowing. "Your anger is justified, but something else isn't."

"What do you mean?"

He watched as she stood up straighter and her once tear-stained eyes sharpened. "How could you use bloodbending? It's a sadistic art that should have never been thought of! How could you, Aang?"

"Nothing else worked; it was the only way."

"You still shouldn't have used it!"

Aang's eyes narrowed into fierce slits. "Is this your way of scolding me, telling me that you would prefer that I had let Azula die from her wounds?"

Katara stepped back, "No, Aang! I would ne- " she cut herself off and looked triumphant, absolutely certain that whatever she was about to say was correct. "Yes! Don't you see? She's seduced you; she's slipped past your defenses by wearing your own Air Nomad garbs! She's up to something; she's Azula! She shot you with lightning!"

"Stop it," he growled and raised his hand, her body seizing under his control. "I take no pleasure from this, but you've given me no other option. I am going to talk, and you will listen to my words." Aang did feel slight guilt that he was using bloodbending against her, but in his mind, she had brought it on herself because of her mistakes. "First of all, I love Azula; she is amazingly clever and witty, strikingly beautiful, strong, fierce and there are so many other attributes about her that I love that I can scarcely recall them all. You and Sokka think that she is evil next to me, a stain and blot on my legacy, but I strongly disagree. I think that she is perfect, flaws included. I don't care about her past sins because she has dealt with them. Honestly, Katara, I had never thought that I would find someone who would accept all parts of me; she does, and I love her for it." Aang stared at her frozen form, his gray eyes locking onto her angry and fearful blue ones. "As I said earlier, what I said to Sokka applies to you, to anyone. This is your final warning, Katara: accept my decision about choosing Azula and while you don't need to befriend her, you aren't going to forcefully antagonize her. If you disregard this warning, I will banish you from the Gaang as I said I would to your brother; you will return to the Southern Water Tribe without speaking to me again. I've had enough."

Katara's form wavered and Aang released her, watching as she fell to the ground in a heap. "Aang, please, you can't- "

"Yes, I can, Katara. Who are you to say otherwise? I am not that 12-year-old boy anymore. Almost a decade has passed since then and I know what and who I want, now. I want Azula and no one else. There is no discussion about it, no pleading with me to change my mind; my decision is absolute."

"I… understand," she whispered, features forlorn.

"Good. Now, there is something else that I must share, and it is about bloodbending, the true depths of waterbending."

Her eyes ignited, "What else could you say about such a vicious art?"

Aang sighed, "You're just like all of the rest, Katara. You've lost the ability to see what waterbending truly is. For a past millennium and beyond, the Children of Water have become less adaptable, unwilling to change their beliefs and faith."

"What are you talking about?"

"For years, now, you have had the perfect chance to rectify the mistakes of your ancestors since you met Hama. Yet, you have- "

"Don't speak of that woman!"

"Why?"

"She was insane and evil, Aang!"

"I am not denying her warped mind and the suffering that she inflicted on others, but she discovered something that could be good for Waterbenders, for the art of waterbending."

"No, it can't. Your mind has been poisoned; bloodbending is evil!"

"No! You have incessantly continued to allow fear to cloud your beliefs and judgment. Avatar Kirku has enlightened me of the falsehoods that the Children of Water have been preaching for over several millennia."

Katara blinked and her anger seemed to drain away. "What do you mean, Aang? Who is Avatar Kirku?"

"He is my past life, the one who told me the truth about the world, about the birth of the Avatar Spirit and how  _Dark_  and Raava are the mightiest of the spirits. Kirku was similar to me in his life because, at the time of his death, he was the last true Master of waterbending."

A gasp escaped Katara's lips. "There was a genocide before the Air Nomads?"

"No, not a genocide, but war. The Children of Water and Earth hadn't lived amicably together. Because of Kirku's negligence as Avatar, same as my own negligence over a century ago, the Children of Water were near extinction, although the Air Nomad Genocide was much, much, much more severe and blood-soaked. Kirku did his best to teach waterbending, but death consumed him before any new waterbending Masters arose."

"That's horrible," she put a hand to her mouth. "I had no idea."

"You wouldn't. It happened thousands of years ago and because of that, the Waterbenders have drifted away from the true teachings of waterbending; they have forgotten the meaning of a Waterbender. Ever since Kirku's demise, these false teachings have polluted the minds of the Sages of Water, and thus leading to every Waterbender's corrupt training. My instincts tell me that the Southern Water Tribe was closer to rediscovering the true teachings, but their Waterbenders were all killed in the Great War before they could reach the heights of their explorations."

Katara numbly fell to her knees before him, tears spilling down her cheeks. "And bloodbending?"

"There's significance in the fact that bloodbending was created by one who was raised in the Southern Water Tribe; Hama must have learned teachings that led to its founding. You have had the opportunity to pick up where Hama, how ever misguided, had left off, but you chose not to because you were too fearful. Bloodbending can be used to heal, Katara; it can revolutionize healing, but you have let your fear and wrong beliefs forbid such thoughts."

"Please, teach me, then, Aang," her eyes stared up at him desperately. "Let me right the wrongs of the past. Help me learn the true teachings of waterbending so that I can restore the right beliefs of the Water Tribes."

Aang blinked and he felt Kirku stir in his soul, seeking to appear. He relented and Avatar Kirku appeared in a blinding tornado, taking Aang's place.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Katara opened her wide eyes to see a tall, handsome Water Tribesman appear before her where Aang had stood; he had dark skin and carried himself with burdened grace. He bore a remarkable resemblance to how she remembered Piandao, but the man's eyes were bluer than water itself.

" _I am Avatar Kirku, young one,"_  the man's voice was powerful, ancient, and sounded like roaring waves.

Bowing her head again, Katara infused great respect into her tone. "Please, I beg you, teach me the truth, Avatar Kirku."

" _I will teach you what I know, young one."_

"Thank you, Avatar Kir-"

He interrupted her,  _"But in return, you must learn to adapt. You must abandon your fears and cast them aside as insignificant because that is crucial. You must re-learn and remember; water is not just about the push and pull, it is also about the constant change in the flowing of the chi, mirroring water. Your ancestors and my children have neglected to abide by the true teachings because of my failure but that can be rectified, finally. A Waterbender must adapt and because of this, nothing is forbidden in the art of waterbending. Your fear of bloodbending is known to me, but we will work together to overcome it, young one. You still have much to learn; there is much that you don't know. He-Who-Knows-10,000-Things, Wan Shi Tong mastered several understandings of waterbending. Mastering your chakras will be the beginning of your journey in learning to adapt and once you accomplish that, only then will you be hailed as a true Master Waterbender."_

Katara swallowed, understanding the big task ahead of her. "Of course, Avatar Kirku."

The former Avatar nodded and disappeared in a blinding tornado. Aang swiftly appeared and looked down at her, eyes hard, causing a sad sigh to escape her. She might have earned Zuko's forgiveness, but she had a feeling earning Aang's was going to be a lot more difficult to earn, and understandably so.

XxXxXxXxXxX

As he stared at Zuko, Katara, Ursa, and Toph, he glimpsed their eager eyes and Aang sighed inwardly. Even though he had warned them multiple times of the incredible trials that they would undertake while mastering their chakras, it seemed that none understood the significance of what they would need to battle with. Thankfully, he himself had no distractions since Sokka, Suki, Mai, and Ty Lee were entertaining Samir while he and Azula, who sat next to him, would guide the others in releasing the blockage that hindered their flow of energy.

"All right, we shall begin," he began and echoed Pathik's words from the Eastern Air Temple. "Chakras are the nexuses of chi within one's body. Everyone, no matter if they are a bender or non-bender, has chakras, but the crucial difference is that a bender can become so much more if they master their chakras. Now, there are seven chakras, each situated at a different location in the body, albeit, they are all located on a central vertical axis, and each chakra has a specific purpose and each one deals with a different emotion, which can then be blocked by another emotion. As such, the chakras can be opened and closed depending on the state of one's mind. So, when a chakra is opened, the energy of the chi is free to flow through the body, achieving someone's full bending potential. But when the flow of the chi energy is restricted, the chakras are sealed and lead to one's bending potential never being attained."

"Are Ozai's chakras mastered?" Zuko asked, sitting opposite him and Azula. "Did he somehow do it as you and Azula did?"

"It wouldn't surprise me," he responded after a moment. "Koh had- "

Katara's eyes widened slightly although she had trouble looking at him. "The Face Stealer?"

"Yes. He had revealed the truth about Ozai's journey to becoming  _Dark's_  vessel of power. He would need to master his chakras, but what he mastered were dark chakras, which are the opposite of the ones you will master; the negative emotions inside him would allow him to bond with  _Dark_  for longer period of times until they are permanently fused as Raava and I are." Aang thought back to the battle, "That's probably why Ozai was able to stay bonded with  _Dark_  for so long."

Azula nodded, "Indeed. During the ambush,  _Dark_  separated only once from my father for a brief moment and that was only to attack you, Aang; you were caught by surprise if I remember correctly."

Aang frowned before shaking his head. "Enough of Ozai. Now, I need everyone to close their eyes. Toph, I want you to remove your feet from the ground," he paused, making sure that they had followed his instructions. "The Earth Chakra is the first one that you will deal with. This chakra deals with survival and is blocked by fear. It is located at the base of the spine. What fears do you live with? What haunts you during the night? What always urges you to continuously look over your shoulder?"

XxXxXxXxXxX

Katara flinched as images of death flashed through her mind: her father being killed just as her mother had been, her brother lying in a pool of his own dark and thick blood, mutilated beyond most recognition, and worst of all, a world of absolute darkness encompassing all of the Four Nations and at the top, Ozai ruled tyrannically as Vaatu's own Dark Avatar.

She swallowed when she saw, in her mind, Aang's body hanging as a trophy off of Ozai's throne of skulls for everyone to witness, and the hopelessness the sight caused everyone because it showed that not even the Avatar could defeat Ozai and Vaatu. And kneeling before Ozai's throne of skulls with both arms missing was Zuko; his expression carved with such hatred and fear that Katara whimpered. The scene unfolded silently with horrific precision. Ozai stood from his throne, eyes black as night, and a malicious grin spread across his face; he punched his fist forward and the other side of the kneeling Zuko's face became enveloped with flames.

Zuko jerked and shuddered and tried to scream but was unable to; his lips had been melted shut by the flames; the skin blackened and melted away. Parts of his skull were soon revealed and it, too, was blackened; it splintered and cracked ominously, popping like small explosions. Katara tried to help him but she could do nothing as Ozai stepped closer; lightning condensed into the monster's hands in terrifying sparks. He then placed a single finger on to his son's blackened forehead and before Katara's horrified eyes, Zuko's head exploded in a shower of red mist.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Zuko saw his father looming over his loved ones with a smile that threatened to split his face; his golden eyes were maniac and glowed with depravity. Beneath his father's foot, Aang laid butchered with lightning spasming through his form and quickly, the pain in his best friend's eyes were overpowered by death. Zuko began to breathe heavily as he looked around and froze at the sight of his uncle's head on a pike next to his father; Uncle Iroh's expression was permanently stuck in fear. Katara laid dead by her brother, but she was stripped naked with bruises coloring her once-lovely complexion; her usual bright blue eyes were dull, dead. The final expression on her beautiful face was one of utter terror.

Suddenly, the image shifted before his eyes, color blurring until he could no longer distinguish which was which. Then it all stopped and Zuko inhaled sharply at the sight of his nude mother chained in front of the looming Ozai. Burns wracked her body and harsh bruises littered her swollen face; his father's quick, rhythmic grunts revealed exactly what was happening and Zuko screamed and tried to shove his father away, but his hands passed through the apparition.

He whirled to the side when he heard unintelligibly muttering and there was Azula sitting on the steps away from the scene of their father fucking their mother. Her head was held in her hands, the mumbles of his once-strong sister conveying insanity and it had happened again!

Ozai groaned loudly and Zuko feared what he would see, but he turned back around; his father had spilled himself into his mother. Now, Ozai stepped toward him, kicking his mother aside, staring at him unabashedly as his cock was proudly on display, dripping with juices.

"So, my traitorous son has finally returned home, then?" Ozai gripped his face and Zuko couldn't move, frozen in place as his father's golden pierced his soul. "Tell me, how does it feel to know that everything that you've built will fall? To know that from the broken bodies of your friends and the ashes of this world, that I will make a better one in my image?"

His father forced him down in a kneeling position and he couldn't speak, could do nothing as Ozai raised a flaming fist; fire blazed towards his eyes.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Ursa saw her husband, no longer the man who she had married but still loved all the same. The world kneeled before him in fiery ashes and her beloved children, Zuko and Azula, were at the forefront, pledging their undying loyalty.

Her husband smiled down at them; the joy suddenly lighting her children's faces caused her to whimper. Even though they finally had their father's love as they had always wanted, it wasn't enough for Ozai – it was never enough! Her husband's hands became alight with fire and Ursa watched in horror, with screams stuck in her throat, as her beloved children were viciously killed to the sound of cruel laughter.

Ozai suddenly turned toward her and Ursa found herself chained to a bed, nude body on display. Her husband approached her out of the rising darkness, grinning lecherously; the sight reminded her of the monster who he had become.

"My beautiful, beautiful Ursa," he purred, golden eyes alight with eager lust. "This time, we will have worthier children than those two traitors. Sozin's line will continue and our union will bear powerful sons who will continue my legacy for eons to come."

Ursa wept as Ozai descended onto her, pawing her breasts, mauling her body like a wild animal, hands spreading her legs, and then he entered her.

XxXxXxXxXxX

She was all alone and Toph frantically smashed her toes into the ground, but nobody was around her; there were no heartbeats of enemy or friend. She felt nothing, not even herself and darkness was everywhere, inhaled into her lungs with each rushed breath. She swallowed heavily and felt the familiar fear of loneliness sweep through her.

Vibrations suddenly filled her, and terror erupted in her mind when she realized what the vibrations represented: an enraged Aang in the Avatar State. The voice boomed in her mind with the strength of thousands of lifetimes and divine, sizzling lines of power scorched her feet, causing her to scream and stumble back; the air was suddenly withheld from her lungs and she desperately clawed at her throat but was powerless against the dreadful might of the Avatar State.

"Toph!" The cry of her name was hauntingly familiar and Toph could suddenly breathe. When she regained her bearings, she turned away and tried to hide, but she couldn't escape from their tight, yet delicate hugs; chains suddenly bound her hands and feet. "We will always love you, Toph, but it is time that you learn the lessons that you should already know." Her parents shoved her forward and she heard the click of a latch; she reached around without sight and quickly gripped a metal bar.

She was locked in a cage.

"No, stop!" Toph cried out, "You can't do this, treat me like a trophy to pawn off to suitors! I'm not a fragile girl; nothing will break me!"

"Oh, my daughter," her mother cooed. "You know not of what you speak. You will be safe here with us, instead of the ones with whom you acquaint yourself. If they hold love for you, it is but a speck compared to ours."

She rocked the metal bars but the more that she struggled, the firmer and less malleable they became. "Please, I'm sorry! Let me out!"

"We can't do that, Toph," her father's cool words reached her. "You broke our trust and we are forced to do this because of your reckless and foolish actions."

"I'm not yours to command! You can't do this to me, not again!"

"You have always been ours and we will make sure that you never leave again."

Tears flowed out of her eyes and Toph folded into herself, feeling the cage shrink with her until she couldn't move her body at all.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Aang sighed as he witnessed all of their telling reactions about their darkest fears coming to life in their mind's eye; he wished that he was surprised by what he was seeing, but he wasn't. "What you're seeing is not real," he raised his voice, hoping his words would calm them. "It is but an illusion conjured by your own consciousness. To master this chakra, you must release these fears that plague you. You are all some of the strongest people who I've ever encountered, so use that strength that is inside of you. Vanquish your fears!"

Their sweaty and shaky bodies stilled at his words and with cries of effort, everyone's eyes snapped open with clarity; their fears were released, but they also understood what they would be facing from now on as they mastered their chakras.

"Well done, everyone," Azula congratulated beside him. "It is a most trying experience and you triumphed over it when most could not. Each of your Earth Chakras is mastered."

Zuko blinked and inhaled heavily. "Fuck, that was… intense; it felt authentic."

He smiled sadly, "It's supposed to. Each chakra, more or less, will be intense; it depends how blocked it is."

"I do feel slightly stronger," Toph breathed out. "I can feel more."

"That's good. Your bending will become stronger with the more chakras you master; the path is being cleared and your full potential can be fulfilled."

"You did this twice, Aang?" Katara finally looked at him fully and her eyes shone with realization. "Recently and in the Great War?"

"It's part of my destiny," he felt his true age for a brief moment. "It's a crucial part of my journey as the Avatar. Although, I will be the first to admit that what I did with Guru Pathik all of those years ago wasn't mastering my chakras. It was opening them."

"What's the difference, Avatar Aang?" Ursa inquired, "Is mastering… more complete?"

"Essentially, yes. Being 12-years-old at the time, it would have been impossible for me to master them. Pathik began the process by helping me acknowledge everything, but it wasn't until recently when I finally mastered my chakras, and with it, became much more powerful."

"Whether you believe me, it's worth it." Azula looked at each of them carefully, "I know my word isn't valued, but mastering your chakras changes you for the better."

He nudged her with an offer. "How about you lead the next one, then? You could relate to them more than I could. I've mastered my chakras before in previous incarnations and it's my duty to do it. You chose to do it and so did they; there is a kinship between you all because of it."

"Very well," she smirked and straightened her posture; the perfect instructor. "Now, we will move onto the next chakra, the Water Chakra. This chakra deals with pleasure and is blocked by guilt; it is located in the sacrum. Close your eyes again and remove your feet from the ground, Toph. What guilt do you feel? What terrorizes your dreams with memories of sin?"

XxXxXxXxXxX

The charred and blackened body of her mother flashed before her closed eyes and Katara swallowed thickly, feeling her fists clench tighter. Her mother had died in agony to protect her because of the nature of Katara's gifts; she was a Waterbender, and because of that, her mother had paid the ultimate price. She caused it, how ever inadvertently, and her mother would never glimpse her grandchildren, never be able to create more memories of love and joy.

The image faded and then Katara saw the way that she had treated Zuko when he had first joined the Gaang after the Day of Black Sun. Her suspicion had shifted into utter paranoia and most of the nights, she had stayed awake, waiting for the treacherous Fire Prince to murder all of her friends, her new family. She had never given him a chance to prove his words true, instead choosing to heave scorn and derision at him, something that he never defended himself against.

Suddenly, lightning erupted towards her and Zuko jumped in front of it, shielding her from death and Azula's insane eyes. He had saved her life at what she had thought was the cost of his own; his body had spasmed with residual lightning and the endless screams had been stuck in her throat. Azula had then attacked her as fierce as fire itself and Katara had been unable to help Zuko, to see if he were alive. She had fought Azula without knowing if Zuko had been killed from the death strike that had been meant for her.

The heat and Azula's eyes dispersed in a thick fog and then Katara saw herself in the Southern Water Tribe, happily content as she aided Pakku in restoring the Tribe with waterbending. She was all alone, none of her friends save for Suki were in sight because she had abandoned them. Aang, Zuko, and Toph were nowhere to be seen and she had been too focused, too selfish to realize what she had done. They had needed her, specifically Aang and Zuko, but she had turned her back against their needs; it was her fault.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Zuko saw his crew on his ship while he was banished, all of whom he had treated horribly when they were nothing but loyal. They were good men who he had treated like peasants when most of them had been of Noble Blood. He had worked them relentlessly as he searched for the Avatar, never giving them breaks as they had deserved, and it had eventually killed them. Zhao would have never drafted them if Zuko hadn't been too stubborn; his crew of good men wouldn't have died at the Siege of the North if Zuko had been better.

Slain bodies then floated in his mind's eye and he saw all of those who had died from his hands; he had killed many who were deserving, but many who were not. Innocent lives had perished because of his negligence and the guilt condensed even further when he saw Aang's body falling in the caverns of Ba Sing Se. Behind it all, he saw his uncle's disappointed and heartbroken face, and then what was worse, when Zuko sided with Azula, the image of Katara's devasted expression as he bore arms with his sister instead of her and Aang appeared. Then, there was Fulki-Aridam, or who Sokka had named Combustion Man, who Zuko had paid to assassinate Aang, his now-best friend after he had suspected that Azula's attack hadn't killed him.

He saw all of the concubines with whom he had shared his bed, how callous he had treated them, just as his father had certainly treated his own whores. He had received his carnal pleasures and always, when he was stuck in the pit of loneliness, he had thought of Katara during those times; he had physically ached for it to be her who was beneath him as he rocked into soft and supple flesh with overwhelming lust.

Zuko saw himself, his younger self who was naïve in hoping that Ozai would love him and the guilt was strong. If he had realized sooner that his father was a terrible monster, he could have avoided so much, saved so many lives, but because of his foolish blindness, countless mistakes happened.

XxXxXxXxXxX

The poison floated in her mind and Ursa looked down in horror, seeing Azulon's dead body, the needle jammed into his neck. She had murdered the one who she loved as her own father because her husband had manipulated her into killing him. She had fallen for Ozai's schemes like a novice and taken away her children's chances of knowing their grandfather more; she had taken away Azulon's chance to have a long life like his father before him and to forge powerful bonds with his grandchildren.

Ursa saw herself leaving her beloved Zuko and Azula with the monster who wore the face of her husband; she had left suddenly without even a proper goodbye. She had been able to see Zuko one last time, but she had been too ashamed to see her precious daughter one last time; she had vanished in the night like a ghost and went over a decade without either of them. Frankly, it was of the greatest miracles that both of her children had eventually forgiven her for what she had done.

Ozai suddenly loomed over her, eyes alight with power and lust, wicked depravity. Ursa whimpered in guilt and sorrow because she had never seen her husband's transformation into a foul monster coming, had never even imagined such a thing could happen, regardless of the symptoms that she had seen in her husband. The monster had taken her husband from her, turned him into a stranger, a bad memory that would haunt her for the rest of her life. If she had been more perceptive, she could have prevented it and stopped so much from happening: Azulon's murder, Zuko's scarring and banishment, Azula's fall into insanity, and the new ordeal with Vaatu.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Toph saw the way that she had treated the Gaang when she had first joined; she had acted completely obstinate. She was unwilling to compromise in any way and because of it, they had all parted ways. The fate of the entire world was in jeopardy because of her unruly stubbornness. Aang could have never mastered the elements because of her actions; he might have never learned any earthbending or firebending because of it. He might have died without her earthbending training during the Great War and then Ozai's supremacy would have truly, certainly been inevitable.

Pleading roars echoed in her mind and Toph flinched at the memory of Appa being stolen by the Sandbenders in the Si Wong Desert; she should have been able to do something, but she was unable to. Her inability to keep Appa safe then led to the most scarring moment in her life: her first encounter with the unleashed Avatar State. She could have stopped that terrible moment if she had saved Appa, but because she hadn't, Aang had never been the same; he was wary, save for Samir and Azula, of anybody around Appa, even the rest of the Gaang.

She saw how she didn't have someone write a letter to Aang when, if she had truly tried to, could have done it. Toph had abandoned her greatest friend after the Great War when he needed her; her problems, when compared to his, seemed insignificant and she should have realized that sooner. She should have contacted him, but never gathered the willpower and courage to do it.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Staring at the faces of everyone as their guilt was summoned to the forefront of their minds, Azula briefly wondered if she had looked as distraught as they did. Her own mother's face was carved with such regret and sadness that she swallowed, having a good idea of what haunted her; her brother's fists were clenched tightly, and his breathing was frantic and uneven. Toph's face was pale and tears spilled down her cheeks; the female peasant's features were pinched tightly, and her lips were pursed while she began to hyperventilate.

"All of this guilt that you feel is in the past, everyone," she called out clearly, knowing that they struggled immensely; she had struggled, too. "There is nothing that you can do to change it; the past is forbidden to change, but the future is not. The future is in your power but only if you stop these feelings of guilt; that is what you can do, so forgive yourself. Release your guilt and let forgiveness flood your hearts; feel the freedom fill you from such an action."

Slowly, each of them opened their eyes and Azula observed them critically. The female peasant was glancing at Zuko and Aang, while her mother stared at her and Zuko, regret a visible affliction in her eyes.

Toph fell back against the ground, her toes curling towards both Aang and Appa. "As Sparky said last time: fuck, that was intense."

Her brother sniffed; his weariness was unable to be hidden from Azula's piercing eyes. "I believe that I paused dramatically before your last word."

"Don't worry," Aang cut in. "There's only one more that we'll do today. Mastering your chakras is a taxing and utterly exhaustive process."

"Excellent, my pupils," she smirked at them when she realized that Aang wasn't going to conduct the next chakra. "Now, as Aang had said, onto the last chakra for today, the Fire Chakra. This chakra deals with willpower but is blocked by shame; it is located in the stomach. What are you ashamed of? What forces you to avert your eyes? What past deeds cause you to clench up and feel cold with chills slithering up your spine like the deadliest of vipers?"

XxXxXxXxXxX

Katara saw Aang and Zuko alone whilst she had cowardly kept to herself in the Southern Water Tribe; she had been too afraid and timid to take the first step of reconciliation to message either of them. Previous mistakes flashed through her mind, highlighting the embarrassment of her younger self as her actions were nothing short of a shameful performance. She remembered her infatuation with Jet before she had learned of his true nature, how she had chosen to trust a total stranger to whom she had been attracted over her own brother; she had almost been instrumental in drowning an innocent village.

She recalled the farce of a relationship that she and Aang had shared at the end of the Great War. What had she been thinking, truly? Oh, how foolish she had acted! It did bring her shame, the memory of their so-called relationship because she had been a young and naïve girl, and Aang had been even worse than she had been. Katara should have glimpsed the truth and realized that anything happening between them would only be worse for their future, but it had taken Aang to realize it – and after she had already abandoned him, pretty much. The entire ordeal, including her desertion of both Aang and Zuko, showed a lack of self-awareness that Katara found appalling.

She remembered Hama and how she had trusted that woman, had thought the best of her and compared her to Gran-Gran. Then because of her inability to grasp the manipulation of Hama, she had learned bloodbending and the evil depths of the accursed art. Katara had sworn never to use the art again, but the memory of the man who she had thought was Yon Rha appeared; she had bent his blood relentlessly as vengeance clouded her senses, her judgment. She had tortured that innocent man when he had had nothing to do with her mother's death.

She saw the way how she had treated her father after Ba Sing Se had fallen to Azula and Zuko; she had scorned him with bitter and sharp words. Yet, in spite of the potency of her anger, her father had understood her plight and was willing to give her space. Finally, she saw one of her worst displays of shame: her berating Aang when she had gone with Zuko to find her mother's killer. How selfish she had acted, how utterly shameful! It was egregious and the memories of it pained her.

' _I knew you wouldn't understand.'_ The words haunted her, especially the sight of Aang's horrified and wounded eyes. How could she have uttered such a profane statement? It was a deep shame that ate at her now because she saw with clear eyes, finally! Aang understood better than she ever would, as he had said to her in the Avatar State when they had reunited after years apart.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Zuko saw his younger self, full of naivety and arrogance, seeking Ozai's evil love; he had acted as his father's monstrous agent to please him, desperately striving to earn the approval that he would never receive. He saw how he had treated others, chiefly amongst them his uncle, how he had thought them without worth, that they couldn't possibly compare to himself. How wrong he had been! Zuko had acted the princely title that he had been borne to, but it was at the expense of others.

He remembered his actions beneath Ba Sing Se, how he had sided with Azula behind the underlying promise that Ozai would return his honor to him; he had been instrumental in Ba Sing Se's fall and Aang's almost-death. He had killed any resistance alongside Azula after Katara had escaped and their uncle was captured; he had wanted recognition from his father. After he had received it, he knew instinctively that he didn't want it, but he had instead chosen to remain stubborn; he sent Fulki-Aridam to kill Aang and everyone else.

After the Great War, he saw the numerous concubines who he had bedded; he had never wanted to be as his father, yet he had proved that he was his father's son. Zuko remembered the mistakes at the beginning of his reign, how he had been too lenient with several of his father's old advisors; it was shameful!

XxXxXxXxXxX

Ursa saw her actions as she had killed Azulon; she had always prided herself on her cleverness and wit, but she had failed to see through Ozai's cunning manipulations. She had been played as a fool, like a rookie in the High Class when she was truly anything but. She saw herself flee from the Caldera, abandoning her beloved to children to live with the purloiner of her husband's face; she had failed to see the monster that Ozai had become until it was much too late, changing her entire life.

She saw herself living by herself for a decade; she saw her permit to Azulon's wishes and never seek out her son after news of his ascension to the Dragon's Throne reached her ears. Instead, she had wallowed in misery and self-imposed exile. Ursa saw her actions as a mother flash before her and it was a shame above all shames! She should have done more, but she hadn't; her children were abused by her husband because of it.

She would never forget her part in it all; her shadow of presence was there throughout it all. Ozai had turned his back on their children, made them kill his enemies and innocents, made them nearly kill each other all for a taste of approval that he would never give. Ursa was just as responsible for everything that happened as Ozai was.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Toph saw her childhood, how she was raised: pampered and treated as fragile. She loathed revealing her upbringing to anyone because the shame was too much. She saw her past actions when she was younger, stubborn as the earth that she controlled and selfish beyond any other. She had put the fate of the Four Nations at risk because of her shameful need for control; she had left the Gaang with the slim chance of ever seeing any of them again.

She had always prided herself on being strong and powerful, but that wasn't the truth; it was a lie. She felt ashamed that she had lied to herself for years, telling herself that she was a great person when the opposite was true: she had been selfish and vulnerable. She had never asked someone to write a letter to any of her friends after the Great War when she should have; she had abandoned her greatest friend when he had needed her most.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Azula inhaled deeply after observing them for several minutes. "It is normal to feel ashamed of your past actions; everyone suffers from the past. To continue onward with your journey, you must let the ashamed past die and never look back; it holds no control over you. Vanquish the feelings of shame and tame them instead; they are a hindrance in your life and must be destroyed if you are ever to find true peace for yourselves." Sweat poured down their faces, but slowly, their eyes opened gradually, and she smirked at their exhaustion-carved faces. "It's hard, isn't it?"

"It is most tiring," her mother's words reached her barely. "It's more strenuous than any bending practice."

"It's all mental, spiritual, and emotional." Toph huffed, swiping away several beads of sweat from her forehead. "That shit will be much harder than any physical stuff."

Her brother nodded slowly, leaning back on his hands. "I'd agree. I remember in Ba Sing Se when Uncle Iroh and I were working at the Jasmine Dragon how I was unconscious for several days because of spiritual upheaval."

The female peasant looked concerned. "What do you mean?"

"Indeed," she furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't understand. This was before I learned about your location in the city."

"This was during Appa's disappearance," her brother spaced his words with care; she noticed that Aang had stiffened slightly. "I had learned of where he was being held and descended into Lake Laogai. I hadn't really known what I was going to do. I had contemplated everything that I could do, but I wasn't close to a decision. Thankfully, Uncle Iroh found me and convinced that the best thing to do was to free Appa."

Aang swallowed, "And that's what you did; it's how Appa returned to me."

"Something had been re-aligned because of that decision," her brother continued. "I was exhausted, similar to how I feel currently. I was in and out of consciousness for several days, I think."

Azula nodded her head after processing that information. "You won't have to worry about that because we're done for today."

"Yes. Tomorrow, we will continue," Aang stood to his feet and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the cave. "I'm sure you all are hungry, so come on."

"I don't even care if I sound like Snoozles, but I'm starving!" Toph huffed and stood up while everyone followed them; they all bypassed the Imperial Firebenders and Yu Yan Archers, nodding their heads in greeting.

Suddenly realizing how late it was – it was mid-afternoon, almost dusk – Azula rummaged through Aang's sack and quickly took a bite of one of the Fruit Pies. She dimly noticed that the others had stumbled into the cave, sitting around the campfire next to Sokka, Suki, Mai, and Ty Lee.

"Samir fell asleep," Suki commented quietly and Azula glimpsed her… daughter asleep on Appa's tail. "She wore us out; she's full of energy."

"You know what?" The male peasant leaned forward, "She reminded me of how you were, Aang, after we freed you from the Iceberg."

"Good," Aang said and Azula sat down next to him as he continued. "Samir should be a child as long as she can; these moments are ones that she can never feel again when she's grown."

The male peasant fidgeted, "How was it, then? You guys look drained."

"For me at least, it was a lot harder than I had initially thought," the female peasant huffed from where she sat next to Zuko's sprawled form.

Toph fell to the ground ungracefully, "Sugar Queen, you're speaking for us all."

"It was very exhausting, physically and, more so, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally."

"Indeed," her mother spoke slowly. "It was arduous; thinking it to be easy was a mistake on my part."

"It was… difficult," her brother admitted with his eyes closed and breathing slowly; it was clear that he desired to rest.

"I wish I could tell you it was simple, but that would be far from the truth." Toph sighed, sloppily picking her toes. "Twinkletoes was right: it was one of the hardest things to ever do."

The male peasant snorted in amusement, eyes crinkling. "Boy, I'm glad that I'm not a bender, then," he exaggeratedly pulled his hands down his body. "I'm just perfect the way I am."

"I'm too tired to argue with you about that obvious lie," Toph snarked half-heartedly. "Come back to me when I'm not exhausted. I can do better."

"Mommy?" A small voice interrupted and Azula saw Samir's eyes wearily lock onto her own. "You're done?"

"We're finished," she confirmed, and her… daughter rubbed her eyes and stumbled into Azula's lap. She still felt slightly uncomfortable with people, mainly Aang and Samir, having no reservations to trust her, but her words couldn't easily express how relieved she felt that they did.

"I want to hear a song," she said against her chest, gray eyes beginning to fill with animation. "Can you sing one, mommy?"

Azula frowned as she tried to remember if there had ever been any songs from her childhood that would be suitable for Samir, but none appeared in the recesses of her mind; she could only think of the stories of Koh, the Face Stealer but she didn't want to subject Samir to the legends of one of the most fearsome spirits in existence.

"Hey, that's a good idea," the male peasant grinned before it swiftly faded. "Mom used to sing us songs, but I don't remember them; only the feelings they invoked remain."

The female peasant smiled sadly and Azula was shocked when she felt small sympathy for her. "I don't even remember the feelings; there's nothing."

"I remember a song," her mother suddenly said softly, eyes gazing at Azula and Zuko fondly. "It is very beautiful and riveting; it is about the Fire Nation. I used to sing it to you two a long time ago: the song of Sozin."

Vestiges of her mother's singing words floated in Azula's mind but that was all that she could grasp. "I don't remember that. Did I enjoy it?"

Her mother laughed, "You demanded that I sing it to you and your brother every night."

"Oh, that's right," Zuzu chuckled with his eyes closed. "I had it stuck in my head for years, but I don't remember all of it, it's mostly faded, now."

"Well, sing it, then," the male peasant cried out. "I haven't heard a good, stick-in-your-mind song in forever. Even if it's about Fire Lord Sozin, the evilest bastard ever, I'm in need of a good song."

"If you wouldn't mind, Ursa," the female peasant smiled. "I, too, would like to hear it."

"Very well," she saw her mother breathe deeply and then, to Azula, the world stopped as she remembered through the aid of her mother's melodious and enchanting voice. "Here it goes:

_The world was young, the mountains green,_   
_No stain yet on the Sun was seen._   
_No words were laid on stream or stone_   
_When Sozin woke and walked alone._   
_He saw the racing rivers run,_   
_And the waves dancing in the sun._   
_He set his heart on the far shore,_   
_And swore to rule forever more._

_The time had come for him to leave._   
_He soothed his flames with no reprieve._   
_He named the nameless hills and dells,_   
_And drank from yet untasted wells._   
_He stopped and looked in water clear,_   
_And saw a crown of flames appear_   
_As gems upon a golden thread_   
_Above the shadows of his head._

_His work remained true, his dreams done._   
_To golden lands, his days begun._   
_The world was fair, the mountains tall_   
_In better days before the fall_   
_Of Agni's glorious child,_   
_Who forged strength out of the wild_   
_The sun never sought to fade away._   
_When world was fair in Sozin's day._

_A king he was on Dragon's Throne_   
_In many-pillared halls of stone_   
_With golden roof and copper floor,_   
_And arts of fire upon the door._   
_The light of sun and star and moon_   
_In shining lamps of golden hewn;_   
_Undimmed by cloud or shade of night,_   
_They shone always fair and bright._

_His reign was great, and length was long._   
_Sozin remained steadfast and strong_   
_Then death emerged as dire foe,_   
_Who struck the final, mortal blow._   
_Grief-filled then were Fire's folk;_   
_Beneath the palace music woke._   
_The harpers harped, the minstrels sang,_   
_And at the gates, the trumpets rang._

_The world is grey, the mountains old,_   
_And Agni's Fire is ashen-cold._   
_No harp is wrung, no hammer falls,_   
_The darkness dwells in Sozin's halls._   
_The shadow lies upon his tomb_   
_Foretold when bore through mother's womb._   
_There lies his crown in lava deep,_   
_'Till Sozin wakes again from sleep."_

As the last note reverberated through the cave, Azula stared at everyone else as they stared at her mother: they were all in awe and Aang looked much more affected than the others; tears spilled down his cheeks and he looked overwhelmed by his emotions.

Samir pulled on his arm in concern. "What's wrong, daddy?"

"I'm just sad, Samir," he wiped away his tears and his voice sounded raspy. "The song hit me really hard; Roku's emotions became my own."

"Who's Roku, daddy?"

"Roku was the Avatar before me; he is my predecessor. Don't worry, I'm okay." Azula watched as peace slowly settled over his features, intense relief shining in his gray eyes; she realized that she wouldn't understand the significance of what he was experiencing. "Somehow, I feel much better."

"I like that song, grandma." Samir chirped after making sure that Aang was, indeed, all right. "It rhymed!"

Azula's lips twitched at her mother's widening eyes. "I'm a grandmother now, aren't I?"

"That was a beautiful song, Ursa," the female peasant said softly. "It's even more powerful now that we know how Sozin was manipulated by Agni and  _Dark;_  he was as much a victim as anyone."

"It resonates with me a lot more," her brother admitted, looking thoughtful. "It tells the story of Sozin through the eyes of a dutiful and grieving Child of Fire after his death; he was deeply beloved."

"I remember you singing it in the Royal Gardens, Lady Ursa, when we were children." Ty Lee sniffed, "It's far more meaningful now when listening to it as an adult."

Toph swallowed and she stopped picking her toes. "It was a nice song, Ursa. I can see how Sparky got it stuck in his head."

Azula's mother smiled gracefully. "Thank you, everyone, but I cannot take credit for the song. After Sozin's death in 70 AG, the entire Fire Nation was in a state of mourning for a long time – many years, I believe. Nobody knows who created the song, but everyone knows that it was sung one day in the streets of the Caldera and it then spread as fire itself; it reached Azulon's ears and he soon ordered the song to be printed and copied for all to have access to it. He himself told me about it; he said that in spite of his tumultuous relationship with his father, he had adored Sozin most greatly."

Zuko's sudden laugh startled Azula and she glanced at him, glimpsing his amused and saddened features. "The curse of the Fire Royal Bloodline: sons forever chasing their father's unattainable love."

"Don't leave out daughters, Zuzu," she pointed out. "I chased Ozai's love as much as you did."

"I hate to admit it, Ursa," the male peasant sighed. "That was one of the greatest songs I've ever heard, but that doesn't mean that I like it."

"It was most moving," Mai said quietly, staring into the flames.

"To reiterate what everyone has said thus far," Suki finally spoke. "That was an incredible, worthy to be heard many times; it was better than any of the ones that the Earth Kingdom have dedicated to various figures. Chin the Conqueror's are quite poor in their rhyming."

"Do you know any more, grandma?" Samir hurdled out of Azula's arms towards her mother. "I want to hear another one!"

Her mother hummed, "I wrote a song once, but it is very sad; it's sadder than Sozin's, in my opinion."

"If it's as beautiful as the last one, I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say share it with us." The female peasant encouraged. "I would love to hear it."

"You must know that I wrote this song after my exile; it was in remembrance of my father-in-law, Agni's chosen Fire Lord, one of the greatest men who I've ever known, Azulon."

Azula raised a brow in curiosity. "I would like to hear it, then, mother," she couldn't help but wonder what her mother had written in honor of the man who she had murdered.

The campfire shuddered and sparks crackled as her mother inhaled slowly. "Listen close:

_In perpetual sleep, he will rest_   
_With a Fire jewel upon his breast,_   
_Which forever shall emit its light_   
_To banish the gloom of darkened night._

_A lie condemned his body interred;_   
_His demise a stenchful woe incurred._   
_The killer cursed to be without gaze,_   
_Deprived of sight for the rest of days._

_How shall I remember my slain friend_   
_Who cherished me 'till the very end?_   
_A father, warrior, merciful King?_   
_A worthy son of mighty Sozin!"_

Silence ensued.

Aang pulled Azula closer and she nestled her head into his bare chest. Samir recognized the somber mood and rested her body against Aang's legs. The male peasant glanced at his wife, eyes glinting in the dim light of the cave. Zuko and the female peasant were huddled together, yet there was a distance between them.

Azula wet her lips, "I think that grandfather would have printed that song for everyone to hear, too, mother."

Her mother wiped a tear out of her eye and smiled sadly. "I'd like to think that, as well, Azula."

"He never blamed you for what happened," her brother said softly, staring at their mother. "You know that."

"Indeed, but while he didn't blame me, I blamed myself," her mother stood to her fight. "If you will all excuse me, I am weary and am in need of replenishing rest. Goodnight, everyone. I will converse in more detail tomorrow."

XxXxXxXxXxX

The agony was intense and overwhelming; any other, lesser man would choose to succumb to the weakness of passing out into the realm of darkness, but he was above them all! The pain was good; it meant that he was alive and not dead as the Avatar had wanted him. Gathering all of his mental strength and fortitude, Ozai compacted the pain that afflicted him into his decapitated arm that lay beside him; he visualized the pain leaving his body in a noxious cloud of sizzling energy and stretch into the arm until it no longer inflicted him as severely.

He couldn't believe how close to death that he had been, how close he still was because of rampant infection. The Avatar, the boy who had vanquished him at the height of his supremacy during Sozin's Comet had stolen the very air from his lungs; he had been deprived of life's most fundamental survival tool. Ozai had seen the look of veritable hatred in those terrifying, glowing, ancient white orbs of power.

The peaceful boy-monk had now evolved into a man who killed.

In many ways, Ozai actually respected that change even though his loathing for the Avatar burned brighter with each passing moment as agony kept trying to distract him. The boy had matured into a man; he was no longer the naïve child who had desperately implored him to stop what he had been doing during Sozin's Comet. Now, the Avatar was a man who knew what had to be done and wasn't afraid to do it; it was a change worthy of a King, of a god.

Ozai knew that, under no circumstances, could he face the Avatar again until he acquired and mastered the remaining elements; he also needed to permanently bond with Vaatu. Twice now, he had battled the Avatar and narrowly escaped from death; he wouldn't push the winds of fate again. To do so otherwise, would be to court death itself and he was no fool, unlike his idiot brother and children. The Avatar wanted him dead and powerful allies were siding against him; he faced insurmountable odds. The Fire Sages and Dai Li had been killed, so he had to find replacements for his army and power base, those who already had great power but desired more while he healed from his injuries.

He had to avoid a confrontation at all costs until he was ready; he could not let his emotions cloud his judgment. Staring down at his abandoned arm, Ozai realized that he would need to play the long game once again, but it didn't matter; he had ascended to the glory of the Fire Lord –  _as was his birthright!_ – because he was patient. Now, he would call upon that same patience to battle against the stakes that were grander than ever before. He would succeed and soon, he would become a god and rule the world as the Phoenix King as Vaatu's vessel, controlling all of the elements.

Problems still hindered him, though: the Avatar wanted his head and so did Zuko, the traitor! He was grievously injured, needed more allies, and most pressing, still needed to locate the other two Elemental Spirits.

If there was one good thing to come out of his attack on the Avatar and subsequent maiming, it was that his fucking whore of a daughter was dead – she was a traitor just as her pathetic brother! It was incredible; the Avatar had seduced, fundamentally corrupted his daughter and because Azula was so wretchedly weak, she had succumbed and become the Avatar's personal whore!

Ozai admired the Avatar's brutality; he continuously bedded the daughter of his greatest enemy. It was something that he himself would do and the thought spurred him on. His bloodline must be eradicated for all whom he had sired were failures; he already slew one, so all that remained of Ozai's personal failure was Zuko. He would need to start over and beget mighty sons and beautiful daughters who would be strong, unlike the legitimate children he had already sired! When Ursa inevitably returned to her rightful place by his side, their union will conceive powerful heirs who will continue his line and legacy for centuries.

"Thanks to the information from our spy that infiltrated their ranks, the Avatar will not be focused on searching for our whereabouts for, at least, a while." Vaatu murmured across from him, purple and black wisps of energy wafting off his corporeal form. "You will have the time that you need to rest, to heal. I am aware of a way to mend your copious amount of injuries, particularly re-attaching your arm to its rightful place, but it will be beyond painful; death would be a gift in comparison."

"Do it!" Ozai snarled out, the pain beginning to return; the fingers on his one remaining hand clenched tightly as fire bloomed around his closed fist. "I can handle pain, Vaatu!"

"This will be like nothing that you have ever experienced in life; it will test you." Vaatu floated closer, his words foreboding. "Pain will consume you and only your strength of willpower will prevent you from succumbing to death's embrace."

"Just do it!" The one-armed man screamed and he immediately regretted it as he coughed strenuously; he couldn't breathe!

He felt several arms – women, based on the grips and slender limbs – wrap around him and push him down on the bed. "Careful! You must relax, Piandao!" A stern, feminine voice said from above him and he barely understood. "You are lucky to be alive; the Avatar forcibly stole the air from your very lungs. Much damage was inflicted, and your lungs and body need precious time to heal."

Ozai gasped for breath and his eyes locked to stare at Vaatu. "Do…" he coughed, "what you- " he coughed again, "you must to… to heal me," he wheezed out and shut his eyes, following the instructions.

The Avatar will suffer!

XxXxXxXxXxX

It was sundown and a blanket was gradually being lowered over the territory's daylight chaos - the screeching Agni, death to the Fire Spirit! Hours of peace would soon ascend without that wretched Spirit! The night will finally come once again! Figures were muted with the shadows and the day was ending with nods and brief smiles of silent understanding. The night was coming - Agni was weakened! It was proclaimed by a blinding orange light piercing an immense, jaded shade of murky clouds.

Soon, darkness would spread across the sky, and peace would be felt by all - Agni and the Avatar would be gone!

Rumbles echoed through the territory and various solemn figures stood, watching the man walk past them silently, seeming to glide across the ground as a specter of strength. He was a holy man; his shrouded body was covered in a myriad of beautiful shades of green. His face was hidden, for it was a crime punishable by death for anyone except those specifically chosen to glimpse his features; the various gusts of wind aided the prohibition of those who sought the sight of his features. The green cloth fluttered across the man's skin, hiding his entire body; this was not just any ordinary Sage. Anybody who gazed upon him instantly knew that he was above them – he was the holy man who had secured their positions as vandals.

He was the Sage of Vandals, a man permeated with incredible wisdom; he could perceive things that nobody else could hope to because of the mighty and noble blood in his veins. He was above them all for he was a holy man, taught the ancient ways of his lineage back to the Conqueror.

The green-robed Sage of Vandals passed through the crowd of figures slowly; he seemed to observe their kneeling forms. They all showed him honor and respect as they should; everyone should!

XxXxXxXxXxX

The holy man progressed onward, and he entered an establishment, dimly noticing that all who resided had frozen, eyes alight with awe; it was not often that the Sage of Vandals visited.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance, Holy Sage." A stocky, earthbending-man walked forward, distress clearly visible on his features. "What can I do for you?"

The Sage of Vandals titled his head to the side and spoke in a strange language, the language that only he and his lineage knew: the language of the Conqueror. The foreign-sounding words fell off his tongue smoothly and the stocky man's eyes widened upon hearing it and even though he couldn't understand it, a large smile graced his features, dismay vanishing upon realization.

"Sage of Vandals! Of course, of course! Come! I will lead you to it." The Sage followed the man and felt jubilation. Finally, vengeance would be inflicted at last upon the damned Avatar! His noble inheritance would soon be realized, and he could continue his sire's vision of a unified Earth Kingdom. The stocky man suddenly stopped and bowed to him. "Here you are, Holy Sage," the man revered with awe. "Anytime you need assistance, you can always call upon me."

He turned to look at the man fully and his eyes pierced through the shades of green covering his face; the man paled and immediately left, apologies tumbling from his lips.

With a wave of his hand, a tunnel revealed itself in the wall; metal stared back at him. The Sage placed his palm on the metal and squeezed; his fingers dug into the material, creating small furrows. He then pushed through and ripped the metal away; he descended down the intricate stairwell and closed his eyes in anticipation.

He entered the main cavern and narrowed his eyes when nobody was to be seen.

"Halt!" A man then appeared with a shout after several moments and pulled out a spear, pointing it at him threateningly. "Who dares to enter the Conqueror's sacred sanctum?"

"I do," he murmured and stood to his feet; he pulled off his cloak, finally revealing his face. Dark green eyes stared back at the man; jagged and gruesome scars crossed over his cheekbones and through his permanently disfigured nose. Black hair with streaks of gray tumbled down the sides of his marred face and previously, before it had been stolen from him by that insane, bumbling fool of King, he had been considered handsome.

The man gasped and fell to his knees, eyes wide with terror. "My liege, forgive me!"

The Sage lunged forward and with a sickening crunch, drove the side of his palm into the man's neck, crushing the larynx. Dispassionate eyes watched as the man's eyes clouded over, death claiming his soul. He then stomped his foot and a mighty rumble erupted through the cavern; multiple men and women rushed out to meet him but upon the sight of his face, they all froze in realization.

In one synchronized movement, everyone groveled before him.

"Many rumors have arisen since my disappearance," the Sage said, dark eyes scanning those kneeled before him. "I have heard them all, how some of you undermined my authority; some sought to liberate themselves and challenge my right to rule us, but fear not, my fellow Children of Chin, for I have returned." He stepped closer and stood before his cousin, "I learned and mastered much in my journey; metalbending is under my domain, now. I have been away for years, but you had no right, no excuse to do what you did."

His cousin glared up at him. "What else was I supposed to do? You were nowhere!"

The Sage growled gutturally and focused; the ground beneath his cousin cracked and rumbled. "What you failed to follow will be repaid, now, with the melting of your flesh," he clenched his fist above the ground; he focused, and lava began to spurt through the cracks. The heat washed over him and slowly, the atmosphere clouded with warmth, buzzing against his senses. The lava surged upward and before anyone could react, his cousin screamed in agony but then fell silent as the lava consumed him, melting his flesh, killing him. "You were always a disgrace to the Conqueror, unworthy to carry his blood." The Sage faced the rest of the kneeling group, who weren't perturbed by actions – nor did they look scared. "I am benevolent, so my forgiveness expands to you all. I have finally returned after my years away and it is to bring great news. Finally, we will be able to slay the Avatar, and then after that, we will destroy the Fire Spirit, Agni and his children!"

Shocked silence echoed through the cavern until a woman spoke, her head still bowed. "My liege, the Avatar is powerful, so how is it that we can finally destroy him? We've tried for centuries now by manipulating events and invoking countless strategies, but every time, it has ended in the death of our kin and ancestors. It is said that the Avatar is the Spirit of the World incarnate."

The Sage stepped towards her and lifted her chin with her fingers, bringing his other hand to gently brush her cheek with the back of his fingers. "My dear sister, you speak the truth: we could never hope to defeat the Avatar. Yet, during my travels, after I mastered metalbending, I became acquainted with someone who could, who will defeat the Avatar."

"Congratulations on your mastery of a thought-to-be-impossible art."

"The girl boasted of it and I secured more power for myself through alcohol."

"You are as cunning as you are powerful, Sage of Vandals, but who could stand against the Avatar?" His sister dared ask, "Who possesses such might?"

The Sage smiled darkly, "The mighty spirit, Vaatu and his vessel, Piandao have begun a crusade against the Avatar and we will join them; we will, at last, have our taste of vengeance as the blood of our sworn enemy quenches our thirst. Our esteemed sire, Chin the Conqueror – who that bitch whore unjustly murdered, destroying our sire's glorious vision – will be avenged after many centuries of failure. The Avatar will die with our help and it will happen soon. The Fire Nation, too, will fall and Agni will be slain. Death to Fire! Death to the Avatar!"

Everyone roared with him and chants of death spread through the cavern, bringing peace to all. For several moments, the Sage of Vandals observed quietly; across his face, a small smile split his rotten features, contorting his face into something vicious.

His sister shuffled closer to him sultrily; her face became level with his crotch. "Hail to our great leader, Chin V, son of Chin IV, son of Chin III, the heir apparent to our sire, the mighty Chin the Conqueror!"

Chin V raised his arms above his head as his name was chanted with utter reverence; revenge would be theirs for the Children of Chin will have their vengeance with him at the forefront of the siege against the damned Avatar!

XxXxXxXxXxX

The sun shimmered off the lake, casting a radiant glow upon Aang's face and he felt his anger at Agni diminish just slightly; the spirit shone with beautiful light. He was alone currently while Azula guided Zuko, Toph, Katara, and Ursa with mastering their chakras; she was a good teacher and he felt proud of her for her remarkable patience and understanding concerning them. Samir was playing with Mai and Ty Lee while Sokka and Suki relaxed after their shift by swimming in the lake, where both Appa and Momo resided, floating in the clear liquid. The Imperial Firebenders and Yu Yan Archers remained in their vigilant positions watching for threats.

He had elected his abandonment this time, for something had been pulsing in his body since he had awoken that morning; it was something spiritual that hummed throughout his entire body, through his very spirit, something that was waiting for him to answer the call.

Aang, at first, had felt hesitant to answer the call, though, to enter the Spirit World at such a delicate time. After much consideration, he had realized that there wouldn't be a better opportunity for him to slip away into the Immortal Realm. Then he had remembered Koh's reminder; he had unknowingly ignored the Face Stealer's summons for years, unintentionally slighting him, but Aang was fortunate not to have Koh attack his loved ones. The Face Stealer had shown mercy, but whoever was calling him now might not feel as generous.

He had shared his plans with Azula earlier, to journey into the Spirit World whilst she guided the others in mastering their chakras, and while she was clearly surprised, she had digested the news with remarkable ease; she had merely asked him how long his departure would last. Unfortunately, Aang hadn't been able to give a definite time because he didn't know who the spirit was and what the aforementioned spirit wanted. She had accepted his answer easily and Aang had been so thankful that Azula was who she was; anyone else wouldn't have been so calm and understanding about it.

Coming to his decision, Aang stepped back into the cave and fell into the Lotus Position; he closed his eyes and inhaled slowly and deeply, focusing on the humming in his body. Subtly, leisurely, it grew stronger until it resembled a roaring wave, echoing through the core of his spirit; it was powerful and Aang couldn't fathom who beyond himself, Koh, and Vaatu possessed such might. He would know if it were the other two, so who was it?

He felt the Mortal Realm fade away and when he opened his eyes, he felt despair sweep through him as he observed the Spirit World.

Charred soil crunched beneath his feet and the air was poisonous, burning his skin and eyes while scorching his lungs with every breath; he used his airbending to keep that from happening. Aang looked upward; the sky was morose with darkness and the trees around him were withered. Streams of bones lined across the ground, highlighted gruesomely by the rivers of lava that flowed through the blackened and barren landscape.

Aang felt sorrow by how far the Spirit World had sunken because of his distraction; he closed his eyes and focused his power on the surroundings. Slowly, he felt his airbending cease to be needed as the poisonous air faded away to become clean, and when he opened his eyes, the Spirit World was healed and beautiful once more with Vaatu's aura no longer inflicting it. Bright green grass sprouted from the once broken and dead soil while the sky was cast in a brilliant shade of blue.

He knew where he was at and the beacon called him; he flew towards it, traversing through the plains of the Spirit World. Gradually, the beacon grew in its intensity and when he arrived, it was potent against his sense, screaming in his mind as an alarm. It took time to adjust but once he did, he inherently recognized the domain that he had entered even though that he had never been there before.

The area was familiar to him and he felt Wan begin to stir at the bottomless depths of his soul when he glimpsed the two swirling, blinding balls of primordial energy hovering over the ground leagues apart from one another. Aang focused his gaze on the enormous, mystical tree that laid between the giant orbs; the beacon shrieked even louder, and he flew towards the tree. Immediately, the beacon simmered down into a humming that slowly faded when he arrived at the base of the tree.

Images assaulted his mind, memories of lifetimes past when Wan became the first Avatar when he defeated Vaatu, that reminded him of what this place was, what this tree was.

It was the Tree of Time; its roots fastened the Spirit and Mortal Realms together, and it was Vaatu's prison for many millennia before he escaped with Agni's help.

The Tree of Time glowed with radiant light and feeling drawn to the glow, Aang floated inside the large opening and was bombarded as memories of his life floated before him in every direction, layered on top of each other, showcasing events that he had even forgotten.

" _Avatar Aang,"_  an ancient voice whispered around him and he stiffened, finally understanding: the Tree of Time was what had drawn him and now, the Tree itself was somehow speaking to him.  _"Thank you for answering my summons; it was most important that you did."_

Aang slowly lowered himself until he sat within the Tree's core. "Why did you need to speak with me, Tree of Time?"

" _To show and inform you of things that you still do not know, to help you fully heal from your past."_

"What are you talking about?"

" _What do you know about my origins, Avatar Aang, of the true origins of both Raava and Vaatu? Speak freely."_

Frowning because he didn't see how the origins mattered, Aang responded. "I know that Raava and Vaatu bent your roots and fastened them to the Material World as they shaped its formation. I know that they created the Elemental Spirits and the Lion Turtles; their union bore Koh, the Face Stealer, who is a neutral entity because of his parentage. I know that I am Raava's vessel and that Vaatu was imprisoned within your trunk for eons."

" _Indeed, you have learned much from your past lives and the Face Stealer, yet you are also still ignorant of the first truth just like everyone because that truth has long been forgotten, even by those as old as the Face Stealer."_

"What are you saying?"

" _I am as ancient and powerful as Raava and Vaatu, the first spirit to come into being. Existence is measured in age; time begins at birth, at creation, but it is inevitable that time for any mortal or immortal entity will come to an end, except of course, for time itself – me. That is what I am, time itself; I will outlast all. Upon the first stroke in the vastness of the Void of Eternity, I came to be. Emptiness was infinite and I desired companions. I separated the cosmic energies of Light and Darkness and compressed them into Raava and Vaatu, creating their corporeal forms. In essence, for your understanding, I am their parent, and I shaped my energy into this form, this tree. I then created the Spirit World for my children, but they wanted more; they wanted to create their own world. I shut them out of the Immortal Realm into the Void of Eternity, where they could only survive if they fastened themselves together, lest they be destroyed; they then began their formation of the Material World and bound it to my roots, connecting both Realms forever. They created the Elemental Spirits and specifically shaped the Ocean and Moon Spirits after themselves; two spirits who are connected and rely on the other to survive."_

Aang braced his hands into the bark beneath him, trying to keep himself from staggering at the sheer knowledge and information, the stunning revelations. He closed his gray eyes and processed it as best as he could, trying to remain calm. "Copious amounts of knowledge and information… have been lost to history," he whispered. "No matter what I do, more information is added; it convolutes everything. I feel that I am trying to solve an unsolvable puzzle with only half of the pieces necessary!"

" _In time, everything will make sense."_

"But I don't have eternal time as you do!"

" _I am Time, Avatar Aang. I know all and see all; I know the past, present, and future."_

"Do we win?" Aang demanded desperately, "Do I defeat Vaatu, then?"

" _Balance will be restored, as was my intention."_

He paused, "What do you mean by your 'intention,' Tree of Time?"

" _It was I who lured Agni to Vaatu; he escaped only because I allowed it to be."_

"What?" Aang's eyes widened and he jumped to his feet. "Why would you do that? Do you know what you've done?"

" _I know exactly what I've done, Avatar Aang."_

"Don't you see what you've done, then? You wreaked evil through both of the Realms! Countless lives were snuffed out because of Vaatu and his machinations, because you permitted his escape!"

" _The mortals lived in an imperfect world, but now in death, they no longer do; most are in the serene parts of the Gardens of the Dead, a place I specifically designed as the mortals' afterlife."_

Aang shook his head, "You didn't give them that choice! They should have been able to decide for themselves what they wanted. Instead, they were butchered because of Vaatu's vile schemes."

" _Perhaps, Avatar Aang,"_  for the first time, Aang felt something that resembled emotion from the Tree of Time: sorrow.  _"As I said previously, I know all and see all. It was inevitable, and most importantly, it had to be done."_

"Why, then?" He ran his hand through his hair in aggravation. "Why would you be willing to sanction Vaatu's liberation?"

" _For true balance to be restored, as it must, both Realms need Light and Darkness; one cannot exist without the other. Since Avatar's Wan imprisonment of Vaatu, only Light has truly thrived until the Great War; there was never the level of Darkness that was needed. The balance of existence has been greatly affected by Vaatu's absence; it had to be rectified, so I acted, Avatar Aang."_

"But why would you choose to release Darkness and Chaos himself?" Aang cried out desperately, still unable to fathom the reasoning of the Tree of Time. "There must have been another way! Why didn't you do something else? Anything else?"

" _There were no other options- "_

"I don't believe that! It's wrong, it has to be! You just didn't think hard enough! Instead, you allowed Vaatu to manipulate the Realms and the heart of Sozin; the Air Nomad Genocide happened because of you!" Aang felt the familiar rage dwelling inside him surface; it was vicious and overwhelming. "My people were slaughtered because of your choice! Damn you, Tree of Time, there was another way!"

" _I understand your anger, Avatar Aang, but it needed to be done; the only way for your people to become better than they were was to restart their growth through you and your future begotten progeny."_

Aang took a step back, "What? What do you mean better? Are you saying that you wanted the Air Nomads… killed?"

" _The entire Great War was permitted to exist because of the Avatars' failings."_

"Yes, Roku failed badly in his- "

" _While that is true, that is not what I mean, Avatar Aang."_

"What do you mean, then?"

" _During the reign of Avatars after Kirku, because of his failure, bending itself and the Avatar's power had become weaker as mortals abandoned and forgot the true nature of bending. The pieces to the majestic puzzle of the bending arts had disappeared because of Kirku's negligence, and no one ever sought to find them after his demise. Because of this, the Avatars since have been greatly weakened in strength; they were spiritually incompetent and misguided. Tragedy, while horrid, is a great building block. The only option was to allow the Air Nomads' Genocide. Since Yangchen's time, they had declined in their spirituality to the point where none of them could reach the Spirit World; they grew stagnant, absconding from the truth and change, unlike the other nations. Their isolation was their greatest weakness."_

He swallowed and while he began to see, he didn't want to accept it. "Wait, no, that's wrong. I had thought that only the Water Tribes had lost their way."

" _No, Avatar Aang. All of the Four Nations had lost their way, and while the Air Nomads were the last to fall, they fell the fastest and hardest; they became the worst out of them all. As a whole, they grew arrogant in their isolation; they immured their own beliefs and culture. Quickly, once their fall had begun, the Air Nomads commissioned rules that hindered the forms of what could and could not be mastered, taught, or even learned. They decreed that the art of soundbending was too violent and excommunicated any Air Nomad who was caught using it."_

"What?" Aang cried out, "That's… no one was excommunicated from the Air Temples!"

" _Because no one dared use soundbending once it was decreed it was a crime; they neglected the truth of the Air Nomads. And you know of true flight, Avatar Aang. After Kirku's death, the Air Nomads refused to edify the ability, fabricating legends about it; in their eyes, it was undeserving of contemplation. Laghima was the only one able to master it for thousands of years but then Zaheer did in the time of Avatar Keska; he achieved weightlessness and became mad. Your people remember Zaheer's actions towards the Northern Water Tribe that brought Avatar Keska's wrath, who then ordained that no Airbender should ever master or learn such an art again. It has been forbidden since."_

Aang blinked at the sudden information; everything was now clearer. "Okay, maybe my people and Keska made mistakes, Tree of Time, but so did all of the other nations! Why didn't you allow Sozin to wipe them out?"

" _Because you were reborn into the Air Nomads, Avatar Aang. Fire Lord Sozin wanted the Avatar slew and the only way to do that was by destroying the fallen Air Nomads. I knew it to be true, so I lured the Fire Spirit to my tree, where Vaatu inveigled him with smooth and promising words. All of that was the catalyst for my granting of the Great War, and eventually, after the Great War, I allowed Vaatu to break free once he regained enough strength to corrupt existence so that both Realms, Mortal and Spiritual, can be saved."_

"No," he denied vehemently, clenching his fists tightly. "It was wrong, and you know it! Balance does need to be restored, but my people's genocide didn't need to happen; you shouldn't have released Vaatu. The world would have changed!"

_"I can show you the truth, Avatar Aang."_

He swallowed, "What are you talking about, Tree of Time?"

" _Meditate within my core and see the many truths that I speak of for yourself, Avatar Aang. Do you want to know the truth? I know all and see all; nothing escapes my notice. Lies have plagued the humans for too long; the Great War made sure that wouldn't happen again for a long time."_

"And you think that if I see this truth, that I will agree with everything that you did."

" _No, I think that you will fully accept it; you will fully heal from your haunted past. Mastering chakras isn't going to fully help you do that."_

"What are you going to do? How will I see and know the truth, then?"

" _I will transport you to the past, to the day when you vanished from the Southern Air Temple."_

The ancient words floated in the air in the trunk and Aang staggered behind their weight; he braced himself against the bark. Was it possible? If he went back to that day, could he save his people? Could he… stop the Great War before it ever began? He could save Gyatso, save the Air Nomads, his people, and save all of the Four Nations from the strife and horror begotten by Sozin and Vaatu; he could save his younger self, save himself from a century of sleep! The possibilities were endless and feeling overwhelmed, Aang bowed his head and controlled his breathing.

"Are you… deceiving me?" He whispered, afraid that it was all a lie. "Can I… really go back?"

" _Yes, Avatar Aang. My promise is true; you will be sent to the past."_

"Then… I can… save them."

" _Indeed, and I know of everything that you're thinking. By sending you to the past, I am allowing you a precious gift: to choose. Will you abide by the history that I permitted to occur, the one that has already happened, or will you change that history and give birth to a new one, one that will inevitably foster the Realms to collapse into nothingness? I am giving you the greatest power in creation, the ability to change something that I have decreed. What you choose to do is your decision, Avatar Aang. I will not interfere with your journey or choices."_

Aang felt dizzy as the words swept through him; he could change everything, make it better! "You're… willing to do this? I can save my people, now, and prevent everything from happening."

" _Yes."_

A thought suddenly occurred to him. "You already know what I'm going to do, don't you? You said that you know all and see all; the past, present, and future are all known to you."

" _Yes, I do know everything that will happen. It is your choices, Avatar Aang, that will define what will happen, not me. Do you accept my bargain?"_

The emotions raged through him, "I accept, Tree of Time. Do it!"

" _Keep your mind open, Avatar Aang, to what you will experience, what you observe; things are not as you had once thought. You are still blinded by a child's thoughts and experiences,"_ the Tree's ancient voice whispered and before Aang could respond, he felt cosmic energy swarm around him; his body was captured, and a rush of mighty power – one beyond the Avatar State's – then washed over him.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Night had descended and Azula felt tense; it was an unfamiliar, yet familiar feeling. She had become so accustomed to Aang's presence that without him, she was left unsettled and disconcerted. The feelings were augmented because of whom she was surrounded; the cooked meal sat over the campfire and the awkward emotions were tangible in the air because without Aang, nobody understood the new dynamic and knew what to do or how to act.

If she were honest, Azula knew that she could easily be attacked; the peasants loathed her with a ferocity that her younger self would have been amused by, but now, all she felt was a deep annoyance. She knew that the only reason why she had yet to be attacked was that of Aang; his mere presence had deterred anyone but Aang was currently in the Spirit World. It was the perfect opportunity for the peasants to strike, regardless if her brother and mother and… daughter were with her. At least, in Azula's estimation, Toph wouldn't try to kill her; through their shared experiences with Kuei's slaughter, mastering chakras, and residing at the Eastern Air Temple, she knew that the Earthbender's hatred of her had lessened significantly, if not completely disappeared.

Azula sat by her brother with Samir sitting between her legs; her mother sat by Zuko and chatted with the female peasant, and while Toph did sit near her on her other side, there was still distance. Mai, Ty Lee, the peasants, and Suki sat across the fire from her; all didn't look at her. While her younger self would have delighted and relished in it, Azula found that now that she was older, she didn't enjoy it. She didn't want to be the monster who Ozai had molded her into any longer; she wanted to start anew, but her past sins would forever taint her legacy in her attackers' eyes.

"All right, I've had enough. I can't wait any longer," the male peasant declared. "When will Aang be back? It's been hours, now, half of an entire day!"

"Time is different in the Spirit World," Samir recited against Azula's chest. "That's what daddy says."

"Well said," she smirked down at her… daughter and she was relieved when Samir beamed back up at her.

"It's strange not seeing his body here," the female peasant said quietly, eyes staring at Appa. "He can teleport there, now; it seems unthinkable."

"He is the Avatar, you know?" Ty Lee dared to speak, "We were always taught in the Fire Nation that the Avatar was ancient and powerful; he was above even the Dragons."

"That doesn't say much since Sozin slaughtered off the Dragons," her brother said bitterly. "The other nations said that the Dragons were monsters, but the true monster was Sozin- "

"Because of  _Dark's_  turning of his heart through Agni," her mother pointed out and placed a gentle hand on Zuko's shoulder. "While we will never know what could have been without  _Dark's_  actions, I'd like to think that Sozin wouldn't have butchered the Dragons down so drastically; maybe just thinning them slightly."

"Wait, something's been bugging me," Toph interrupted by flicking a crumb out of her toes. "Since Twinkletoes can… teleport, does that mean that he can teleport to anywhere in the Four Nations?"

"That would be pretty fuc- pretty awesome," the male peasant hastily corrected. "I don't know if he can."

All eyes, including those of the peasants' and Suki's, slowly looked at Azula, question clear in their gaze.

Sighing, she quickly ruminated through everything that Pathik had said about mastering chakras. "Pathik never mentioned something like that, so I doubt it, but honestly, I do not know."

"Honesty?" Zuko's lips twitched upward, "From you? You're a stranger to me." He seemed very amused and Azula frowned in annoyance; she whispered into Samir's hair and looked back at her brother, whose smile faded. Before he could speak, a pebble suddenly smacked her brother in the face, causing an abrupt laugh to escape her lips. Zuko glared at Toph, "What was that for? I thought that out of all people, you would have laughed at that."

"First of all," Toph pointed at her brother. "That was a lame joke and lastly, that wasn't me. It was your niece!"

Azula looked down at Samir still sitting innocently in her lap, smirking proudly when she saw the small pebbled being rolled between her small, twisting hands.

"It was her," her mother said with a smothered laugh. "I saw her; it was good accuracy."

"Must be the airbending," the male peasant offered, but a wide grin was on his face. "I'm liking you, kid, more and more; that was good."

"Thank you," her… daughter replied shyly, curling back into Azula's bosom.

Zuko leaned forward, "Samir, why did you throw that at me? Did I upset you?"

Samir blinked innocently, "Mommy said that you wouldn't mind, Uncle Zuzu."

Toph and Ty Lee both burst into laughter at the same time and then the male peasant followed; then her mother and finally, Zuko crossed his arms in amusement and mock grumbled. Azula even saw the female peasant and Mai's lips both twitch upward, and her own laughter joined the chorus, especially when she remembered that exact same expression crossing her brother's face the first time when she had called him 'Zuzu.'

The laughter slowly faded, and a tense silence once again befell the group; more moments passed before, suddenly, the male peasant looked at her, holding her gaze and Azula felt curious by the look in his eyes.

"Out of all of us, save for perhaps Appa and Momo, you seem to know… you know Aang the best." The words were clearly hard for him to say but the slouched, defeated posture was vivid. "He… you know, he um… cares about you; he even adores you, as Toph had said."

"What are you trying to say?" Azula raised an eyebrow, aware of everyone's eyes staring at the both of them, wondering what would happen. "Indulge in your bluntness; it will make it easier."

The male peasant looked down and inhaled deeply. "Why is Aang… he's different; he's… cold, now."

"He is cold towards you and your sister," she corrected. "But he is a man, now, the Avatar above any of us. Why would he act the same as he did all of those years ago during the Great War? It was eight years ago; he has changed much from then."

"I know," the male peasant rubbed his face. "I know that, but the changes that I was always expecting – besides physically, of course, and man, he's grown taller and bigger than I had ever thought – aren't what I assumed that they would be."

"Then that's your fault; you shouldn't assume things that you have no control over."

"Okay, but emotionally, he's…"

"Cold?" She guessed and felt triumph spread through her when the male peasant nodded slowly. "Aang is angry with you, furious actually."

"Well, what did I do to make him so mad at me? Why's he angry?"

"It's what we did, Sokka," the female peasant whispered and Azula stared at her curiously. "You and I both committed a terrible mistake- "

"And me, too," Toph added softly, toes curling into the ground. "We all fucked up."

"What did we do, then?" The male peasant demanded, "Why is Aang so angry with us?"

Azula failed not to roll her eyes; the male peasant was incredibly dense. "After the Great War, what did you do?"

"We went home, of course."

"And what about Aang?"

"He stayed with Zuko for a year or more and then he had Avatar stuff to do."

The female peasant shook her head. "Yes, but why didn't we do something to help? We were his new family, remember? We promised to be there for and with him, but… we weren't; we just went back home. He went back to the Southern Air Temple by himself and lived there without human contact; he confessed it to me in a bitter fury."

The male peasant blinked and Azula watched the change shift in his features. "That's not…" he looked around and desperately observed. "We did do that, didn't we? That's why he's angry? He thinks that we abandoned him?"

"You did abandon him," she stated bluntly, unwilling to allow them any reprieve from their actions. "He was hurt but slowly, the hurt morphed into fury. In my opinion, it's a miracle that he hasn't killed either of you."

"It's because Aang isn't you, Azula," her brother stared at her pointedly and understandably. "You and I… we're different; we're more lethal and vicious. Before my fury settled, I fantasized about killing them; my anger was so strong because I was hurt."

The words were directed at the peasants and Azula saw the female wince but not look surprised. The male, on the other hand, stared at Zuko with wide eyes. "Fuck, we… we did that to you, too, didn't we?"

"Language, Master Sokka," her mother said sharply. "There is a child present."

Zuko stared at the male peasant evenly. "You did. I was angry for a long time, but I've already forgiven Katara. Aang's wounds have always been much deeper than mine in regard to your… betrayal of trust."

"And me?" The male peasant inquired hesitantly, "Have you forgiven me?"

"No. We've hardly truly spoken and resolved our differences, what you did. Katara and I did that and it, along with other reasons, is why I forgave her."

"I see…"

"We have much to atone for, Sokka," the female peasant grimaced. "Aang isn't ready to forgive us; he's still angry."

"So, he's been angry this whole time because… we abandoned him?"

"Yes, that is the heart of it," Azula leaned forward slightly. "The fact that you still breathe shows that he still cares for you."

"We need to give him time," Toph said quietly but everyone heard her words. "Twinkletoes is rightly angry, but he told me that he'll eventually forgive us."

The male peasant ducked his head into his hands. "I can't talk about this anymore."

Everyone was quiet and after several moments, Suki patted her husband's cheek; she stood up and walked around the campfire silently. Azula watched the woman and felt shock sweep through her, although she didn't let it show on her face, when the woman sat down next to her, bypassing Toph.

"A change of topic, I believe, would be best. Since you're now a permanent member of the Gaang, I wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead," she offered, curious despite herself.

"I've always wondered where you learned that move, the one that you captured me with during the Great War. Do you remember? You didn't use your bending."

"Of course," she raised an eyebrow, but answered anyway, aware of everyone listening. "At the Fire Royal Academy, to advance to the final course and bring honor to your family, an extraordinary feat of non-bending must be showcased in a final presentation," Azula remembered her own presentation; she had been anxious but calm, proud. Ozai had been in attendance and she hadn't wanted to disappoint him, and she hadn't; she almost laughed because while she had always strived never to disappoint him as a child, she had absolutely disgusted him as an adult, but she didn't care! She felt happy and peaceful. "I created the move and integrated it into my hand-to-hand fighting technique."

"I remember that!" Ty Lee smiled but it faltered and faded when Azula looked at her. "That's when I… you know, introduced chi-blocking and when Mai showcased her shuriken."

"That was so humiliating." Mai said dryly, "I can't believe how pathetic that I used to be."

"I was envious, of course," her brother declared with small amusement. "I was angry that I couldn't showcase my skill with my Dao swords that Lu Ten gave me."

Her mother shook her head, "I was forced to calm you down; your father wasn't pleased."

Zuko snorted, "He never was, the bastard."

Samir suddenly looked up at her with wide eyes; her cheeks were pale. "He shot you with lightning!"

Abrupt and terrible silence overtook the cave; no one spoke and while her mother put her hand over her parted lips, Azula inhaled slowly. The peasants looked shocked and Suki's eyes had widened slightly; Toph had stopped moving, features frozen.

She chose her words with care. "Where did you hear that, Samir?"

Her… daughter stared at her bosom, where the lightning had struck. "Daddy told me. I remembered the words before."

"Yes, he is who shot the lightning at me."

"Daddy said that your daddy is a monster."

Azula's eyebrows rose and she ignored the sharp inhale from her mother. "Did he?"

"Yes, mommy."

"He wasn't wrong," she struggled to find words. "You don't need to worry about him, Samir; he won't return for a long time."

"He hurt you."

"But I'm still here; your daddy healed me," those words were strange, but she adapted flawlessly. "You don't need to worry right now, okay?"

"Do you promise?"

"Yes, Samir. I promise," she sighed in relief when her daughter buried her head into her chest.

"That was tense," the male peasant whistled, glancing at his sister. "Makes me glad that our dad was awesome."

Zuko's eyes darted towards him, "You have no idea how blessed you were."

The female peasant smiled sadly, "I think that he's beginning to."

XxXxXxXxXxX

The darkness was stifling when Aang re-appeared and he choked on it; he quickly tore out of it and stumbled to the base of the Tree of Time once more, the darkness still overwhelming but it wasn't nearly as bad as it first had been.

"I see my exploits have finally granted me an audience with you," the familiar dark, malevolent voice hissed from behind him and Aang stiffened and turned around slowly, already knowing who it was; Vaatu stared down at him from his prison in the Tree of Time, and he suddenly realized that it worked. He was in the past! "So, you are Raava's newest vessel, the newest incarnation of… Wan."

"I am, and you are who… caused everything."

Vaatu seemed to purr, "You know of everything that will come to pass, Avatar? That is interesting and considering that you appeared below my prison inside the Tree of Time, I wonder."

"What do you wonder, Vaatu?"

"You know my name, too. It brings me great pleasure to hear my name pass the lips of a mortal."

"I may be mortal, but I'm also immortal, too."

"I know that all-too-well," the spirit hissed. "Since you are clearly from the future and somehow convinced the Tree of Time to transport you to the past, tell me how you survived Sozin's armies."

"I will be the one who changes things, not you."

"Hmm… so it is successful, then? The war that I fanned and fueled will do everything that I hoped."

Aang's eyes widened before he calmed his expression. "No, it won't. You fail, Vaatu, everything fails."

"Then free me, Avatar, and become my vessel instead of Raava's. The Realms will revere our might. If you release me, I will stop the plans that I have set in motion; the Air Nomads will be saved and the horrors that I can sense in you will not come to pass. You can have everything that you ever wanted. I will give it all to you if you but free me."

"I am not interested in empty promises, Vaatu. You lie as easy as I draw breath; you will remain in the Tree of Time."

Energy pulsed inside the prison and Vaatu glowed in rage; shadows tried to corrupt him but Aang simply swatted them away. "You will regret your inability to understand true power, Avatar! I will escape from my prison and when I do, everything and everyone you love will be swept away by my darkness! Calamity and woe will be all that you know when I escape; you will be destroyed!"

Aang ignored Vaatu's furious words and closed his eyes; he teleported out of the Spirit World.

He coughed and when he opened his eyes, he was stunned to find himself standing in the cave where he and the Gaang had settled at in the future. The differences were apparent immediately; no blood soaked the soil and trees, and craters didn't litter the ground in scorches of fire.

He inhaled slowly, the air filling his lungs; it was untainted by woe, war, destruction, ruin, blood, decay, and death. The world had yet to be molested by the Great War, had yet to cry out silently as war was ravaged across its fertile and luscious soil. This was finally his chance, the greatest gift that he could have possibly received; he was going to save the Air Nomads, save the Four Nations, the future of the yet-to-be begotten children from the cruelty, horror, and desolation of untamed war!

Hovering off of the ground, Aang secured his cloak and felt a smile stretch his lips; he would change everything!

The Tree of Time had said that he would be sent back to the day when he ran away from the Temple, so that meant that he had several days until the dreaded storm appeared to consume his younger self and until Sozin's Comet arrived with Sozin's butchering-army of enhanced Firebenders.

Aang blasted into the air and blasted jets of flames out of his feet at the same time, propelling him faster that much more; he had to make it in time, he had to!

XxXxXxXxXxX

Slowly, the words of the Tree of Time returned to him and they pestered him continuously by echoing in his mind with a gentle whisper: ' _Keep your mind open, Avatar Aang, to what you will experience, what you observe; things are not as you had once thought. You are still blinded by a child's thoughts and experiences.'_

It had become a silent scream in his mind when he had stopped in a small town for food, and the atmosphere of the village left him feeling unsettled; it was dull. People were secluded yet lively, conversing freely but showing no joy over the connection that they shared with their element; their spiritual energy was weak. Nobody was truly close with one another; bonds of friendship weren't apparent. Some people seemed friendly and lively to hide the blankness in their hearts and souls, while others didn't care and were angry and bitter; no one had a purpose.

It was extremely disconcerting to him and Aang was beginning to wonder if the Tree of Time was correct; he unsuccessfully tried to ignore his thoughts and feelings as he continued his journey to the south. Aang blazed through the sky and stared down at the world below as he passed them by; much was recognizable from life before his identity as the Avatar was announced and from the future he lived in, yet there were many differences that he had never noticed before when he was younger, things and places that no longer existed in the future.

There were no travelers and no diversity amongst those of whom he did observe.

Shaking his head, Aang desperately sought to rid himself of the growing doubt that plagued his mind. He couldn't afford to think of it; he was going to save his people, he had to!

He relentlessly pushed forward to the south, Agni's light slowly dimming as night began to overwhelm the Elemental Spirit. Aang's mind had become numb as he had encountered no Airbenders or Sky Bison; he hadn't even seen them anywhere. Where were they? Why weren't they being nomadic? Airbending was freedom, going where the wind wanted to take you; you weren't supposed to be concerned by trivial matters. So why were there no Airbender traversing the world? He didn't understand it, what was happening, and he felt overwhelmed by everything, the Tree's words ever-present in his mind.

Eventually, when it was too much, he landed on Kyoshi Island and created a small shelter near the beach away from the main village; he needed to stop the whispers of the Tree of Time, of his own doubts, ward them off! Aang shot a small blast of flames to create a fire and he looked down at himself; he still had no shirt, only the black cloak that Zuko had given him after he and Azula's lovemaking.

Azula.

Aang groaned and closed his eyes tightly in shame; he hadn't even thought of her. Now, she was all about whom he could think, and grief quickly began to pound in his chest where his heart beat. He began to think furiously, sadly, mournfully, regretfully; he hadn't truly thought of what he was going to do, what would happen. If he saved his people, what would happen to her? What would happen to the future that he had planned to build with her? What about Samir and his friends? Would they all… still be there? Everything, indeed, would change if he saved his people and that included his future, the strides that he had made in regard to himself and his personal relationships.

If he saved his people and fundamentally changed the past, snuffing out the Great War as Roku should have done before it even started, everything would be different when he returned to the future. Many people would survive and produce offspring that would never have existed, thus leading to the chance that those who existed in his future would never be begotten. Azula and Samir and his friends might never exist! Iroh, if he was born, would become Fire Lord instead of Ozai, if the monster was born, and the entire history of the next century would change drastically; there was no way to tell how much! Aang himself might already be married to someone else who wasn't Azula in the future if he changed the past; he might have sired children with this unknown wife because he would be an older Avatar – truly living at 120-years-old!

He clenched his teeth and jumped to his feet angrily, his cloak falling off his shoulders to where he sat; he leaped into the lake with a bellowing cry of deep and bone-weary frustration and swam to the bottom, sitting in the sand. Aang created an air bubble and the solitude brought him peace, yet his questions and frustration endured. A small shadow passed his bubble and then he smiled sadly; the young, smaller Unagi swam around him. The memories of the time when he had ridden the animal popped in his head and then that brought forth a sudden swarm of other memories from the life that he had built in the future.

Not since his struggle whether or not to kill Fire Lord Ozai before Sozin's Comet had he felt so conflicted, so burdened with a single choice.

Would he abandon the life that he had made for himself to save his people? Would he be willing to give all of that up?

Aang nodded furiously and refused to acknowledge the long hesitation that followed his question; he would do anything to save his people, wouldn't he?

XxXxXxXxXxX

Another day of travel passed and still, there were no Airbenders or Sky Bison he encountered. Aang had finally arrived at the Southern Water Tribe and he floated above the city where none could see him; he observed the life of Katara and Sokka's Tribe before the Great War, studying the Water Tribesmen and women.

It was not as he had thought, and the realization brought more grief and discord; the Tribesmen and women hardly conversed with another who weren't relatives and even then, it was sparse. The Waterbenders hardly used their element, the art that they were gifted with except for the Water Sages and Aang saw them practicing movements that nobody else knew; he had been right when he spoke to Katara: her Water Sages were closer to rediscovering the true movements to waterbending than the North.

But it wasn't enough to ease his heartache; his observations made it worse. The Children of Water were aloof with one another and were nothing like how they would act a century later. Aang dimly realized that while the Great War had brought them much suffering, it had brought them closer together to become one large family.

Coming to a sudden decision, Aang dropped from the sky and landed silently before the Tribe. He didn't feel the cold and walked towards the entrance and when he was within sight, two men immediately pointed spears at him threateningly.

"Who are you?"

Aang held up his hands peacefully, "I'm a traveler and wanted to speak with your Chief. May I speak with him?"

One of the men frowned, "What are you, an Airbender?"

"Of course, he is," the other man lowered his spear and elbowed his partner. "Only an Airbender could survive in this bitter, ancient cold with only a cloak that covers his back and shoulders. Not even the Water Sages can do that."

"But he has hair; they say that Airbenders are bald."

"Yes, I'm an Airbender," he cut in, showing his arrow-tattooed hands. "I'm a unique case. Is it possible to speak with your Chief?"

"Why? What does a unique Airbender want with our Chief?"

"To talk. I just want to ask him some questions." Aang thought of a feasible story, "The Elders at my Temple sent me to speak with him."

"What's your name, then?"

"My name is… Anil," the moment when the name passed his lips, he felt Avatar Anil stir in his soul, but it was apparent that his past life wasn't trying to appear.

"We'll take you to the Chief, then," the men motioned him forward. "He'll make the decision, deciding your fate."

Aang walked through the village, one man in front of him and the other behind him. He observed the faces of those who stared at him and felt their energy, sorrow spreading through him when none approached him and when he felt that their spiritual energy was weak, too. He passed various huts and the journey was a lot longer; the Tribe was much larger than when he had seen it in the future.

"Who is this?" A man questioned when they stopped at the largest ice-house in the Tribe. "Why is he here?"

"He's an Airbender who was sent to speak with the Chief. Is he in there?"

"Yes, go ahead," the men parted before them and Aang entered and saw a broad man with a thick beard sitting down; he looked a typical Water Tribesman, but he was large, indeed.

"Chief Kuhna, this is an Airbender who was sent from his Air Temple by his Elders to speak with you. His name is Anil." The two men kneeled before the Chief but Aang remained standing. "Will you grant him an audience?"

The Chief stared back at Aang before a soft sigh escaped his lips. "Very well, Airbender," he waved out the two men, who exited swiftly. "What do your Elders want?"

Aang nodded his head in respect, gathering precious moments to think of what to say. "Thank you, Chief Kuhna, for granting me an audience."

"You have good manners for an Airbender. My rare experiences with your kind haven't been… poor."

He blinked back his shock, "I'm sorry to hear that, Chief Kuhna. I will try not to disrespect you."

"What do you need to say?"

"My Elders had questions about your Tribe, about how it operates."

"Why?"

Aang thought quickly, "The Southern Air Temple has expressed interest in trade with your Tribe."

Chief Kuhna's eyebrows rose, "Your oh-so-spiritual Elders have finally decided to rid themselves of their foul and foolish isolation? Their allies in the Four Nations are incredibly sparse; their… ridiculous wisdom should let them know better than to come to me."

"They are hoping that you would be interested."

"Why do you need to trade? Your people have never needed it before."

"Times are changing," he said carefully. "The Elders fear that something is coming, something… disastrous."

"Speak plainly, Anil," Chief Kuhna leaned forward and Aang narrowly controlled his twitch at being called that name; his Air Nomad predecessor from two Avatar Cycles ago reacted to it. "What do they fear?"

Aang decided to be honest because he remembered the Elders speaking of darkness coming. "They fear a war is coming, one that will envelop the Four Nations."

"The Avatar will stop it, Anil." Chief Kuhna sat back, losing interest. "Your Elders have nothing to fear. There will be no war with the Avatar, especially since the newest incarnation has been borne of your people."

"They fear it will happen before the new Avatar is of age."

Chief Kuhna laughed suddenly but it wasn't pleasant; it was dark and bitter. "Such potential woe and darkness, then. It's more than infuriating: your people have the speed of the wind and more, yet they never act in haste."

"Be that as it may," he countered quickly, hoping to finally have his questions answered; he hoped that the doubts in his mind would finally vanish. "If you're interested in trade with us- "

"We're not," the Chief stated bluntly. "Your people have never done anything for us, for any of the other nations. We will not help you; it's time that your people understand true hardship as the rest of us have."

"- would you answer my questions?" Aang finished, trying to ignore the Chief's words about his people; he wasn't successful.

Chief Kuhna sighed, "What is it that you want to know, that your Elders want to know, Anil?"

"What do your people value?" Searching for words, Aang almost created a slab of ice for himself to sit on, but he narrowly stopped himself. "What do the Children of Water believe precious? What are your customs? How spiritual are your people and what is your value towards bending?"

"Your people should already know these questions, Anil." Chief Kuhna began to look angry, "The fact that they don't is insulting; we know your people's outrageous customs and beliefs."

"Please just answer them, Chief Kuhna," he pleaded desperately. "Then after that, I will leave your Tribe."

"No!" Chief Kuhna stood to his feet and Aang realized that he was taller than him, although the Chief cut an imposing figure. "Return to your Temple, Anil; your Elders receive nothing from me. You dishonor me with your presence."

Aang clenched his fists, beginning to feel his own anger seep through. "No sooner than you answer my questions, will I leave, Chief Kuhna. I must know; it's important!"

"You want to know, Anil? You are a fool with all of Air's pride! My people value the blood and meat of animals; we sink our teeth into its substance and draw strength from it." Chief Kuhna stared into his eyes with fury, "Your people are cowards and weak; they would rather allow a beast desecrate their homes and bodies than kill it. You Air Nomads are no warriors; this new war you fear, you won't fight it; you will ignore it because your people don't believe in survival or fighting. You are selfish beyond all! Your people claim no attachments, so they would rather let friends and families die than save their lives; you would rather not raise a hand to fight and let your attacker kill you than survive. My people love children and value them above all; they are precious beyond compare. You don't even know who your parents are because your people steal children from their mothers' bosoms; they are child-stealers, child-slayers!"

Aang staggered back, shaking his head, the words floating in the air. "That's not… you… what?"

"Search your records and hear the tales! Avatar Kuruk was disgusted by your people; he declared it boldly!" Chief Kuhna's teeth glinted in the dim light, "Don't look so astonished, you damned fool! You know full well what happened when a non-bending child was born amongst your people, Anil!"

"What are you talking about?" He gasped out in shock, unable to comprehend the Chief's words. "All children are born Airbenders!"

"Are the lies of your Elders so noxiously thick that you can't see the truth? You pitch your non-bending children off of the ledges of your Air Temples!"

"No," his voice was far away, and he didn't recognize it; it sounded hazy and distant, diminishing in the rising darkness in his mind and heart. "All children… are… Airbenders."

"They say that they are now, have been for centuries past, but they weren't always, weren't they?!" Chief Kuhna spat, lips curling in disgust. "How do you think that happened? Your Elders, after meticulously examining each newborn, killed the non-airbending children until the bloodlines that would have the potential to sire non-benders were snuffed out. That's what Avatar Kuruk said!"

"That's not true!" Aang cried out, finding his voice and strength; he began to back away. "I have… have to… I must leave, Chief Kuhna. I want to thank you for your input, but I cannot; this has been distressing."

"Fly away, Anil, just as your people always do." Chief Kuhna waved him out, "Leave now, while I still allow it."

Aang exited the tent and rushed out of the Tribe, creating a small blizzard in his wake; he needed to get away, he had to! When he was out of eyesight, he exploded off of the ground and flew away from the Tribe; the Tree of Time and Chief Kuhna's words haunted him.

It couldn't be true, right? His people wouldn't do that, would they?

XxXxXxXxXxX

He had put the echoing and dreadful words out of his mind because if he knew that he contemplated them, he would truly become mad and he was tired of being considered the Mad Balance-Keeper. Night began to fall, and he realized what was about to happen; his younger self would soon appear to be swallowed by an unholy storm. Aang flew towards where it would happen; he was going to save his younger self from absolute heartbreak!

When the haunting words tried to reappear in his mind, he compressed them back down and focused on the peaceful atmosphere for several minutes, clearing his mind of the horror and sorrow. The waves rolled gracefully beneath him; the ocean itself was calm. The winds whipped around Aang's floating form and snow flickered against his cheeks.

A movement in the air.

Bolting higher into the sky, Aang watched in wonder as his younger self darted through the wind atop Appa's head, gripping the reins tightly, yet loosely. He floated closer slightly and was awestruck by how innocent the boy looked, how he himself had looked. The boy from over a century ago looked sad and despondent, but no horrors and death lingered in the young gray eyes; the knowledge of what was yet to come eluded his kind, malleable heart.

Aang's breathing became rapid; he could stop the boy and change everything for himself right now! He knew it as true as the flakes of snow that touched his cheeks, but he watched instead. He willed himself to descend and sweep his younger self away from a century's imprisonment, but he couldn't move; he was frozen as he watched his younger self ride on Appa towards the clear skies, oblivious of his coming sleep.

He… couldn't do it.

Thoughts of Azula and Samir and his friends, the very life that he had made for himself, stalled his hands; he wanted to keep that life. He closed his eyes and the decision was solidified; he wasn't going to stop his younger self's journey. Looking back at the boy sadly, Aang blinked in horror because he recognized where the boy was; he was about to watch his younger self become sucked into the storm. It should surround him in a suffocating blanket any moment, appearing out of nothing, out of nowhere.

Aang knew it as he knew his own hand; he had relived the moment countless times in his nightmares. The boy was going to pat Appa's side and whisper to descend slightly and then the storm appeared. He watched as the memory happened before his eyes, but no storm appeared. He didn't understand it; the boy should be-

He swallowed thickly as he realized what was going to need to happen; he himself would need to create the storm so that his younger self would vanish beneath the ocean and be safe from Vaatu and Sozin for a century. To secure the future of the world, Aang's own personal future, he had to create the nightmare that had haunted him for years.

The winds of fate were cruel beyond fathom.

Dashing through the air towards his younger self, he knew that it was the only way; he couldn't let the boy continue his journey. He would be captured by Sozin and tortured, probably triggering the Avatar State and then Sozin would kill the boy before he could escape, permanently ending the Avatar Cycle, securing total supremacy for Vaatu. The safest place for the boy, the safest place for the world's hope and future was beneath the ocean, locked in permanent dormancy.

The tears flooded his eyes and Aang wept as he flew silently towards his younger self, hands outstretched; the truth was blinding, flooding his mind with explosions of misery. He was right behind his younger self, floating above the younger Appa's saddle, and he took the time to memorize the boy's innocent posture, to remember the boy's features from earlier; he trembled and tears blurred his vision, but he gathered his energy.

His tattooed hands clenched tightly, drawing blood as his aura of power erupted. Within moments, the winds howled viciously, and Agni's light was fully dimmed as dark clouds appeared in the sky. A heavy downpour cascaded down, and the once-sunny evening had transformed into a hurricane, a colossal event of nature. A deafening shockwave of thunder screeched across the heavens, lightning crackling ominously with intent; massive waves of water rose from the churning ocean in a gigantic wave-like hand, agape to consume all in its path.

The boy shrieked and desperately urged Appa to fly faster, but the waves reached the younger Appa, drawing them in its infallible grasp. The boy screamed in terror, slamming his eyes shut and Appa roared in fear, trying to escape from the maws of icy water, but it was futile. The wave grew even larger and an intense, overwhelming gust of wind smashed Appa and the boy fully into the grip of the ocean. They were fully submerged and while tears blurred Aang's vision, he held them there, drowning.

He saw the boy's eyes suddenly open in blinding white light after several moments, the Iceberg being created instinctively by his younger self. Once the glow faded and the Iceberg sunk to the bottom of the ocean, he released his hold with the knowledge that his own century-long sleep had just begun. The skies parted and the evening's light shined down on him, but it brought him nothing but grief.

He stared down into the now-calm water, trying to see his younger self, but he couldn't; his lips began to tremble as the realization swept through him like a sickness. He had just doomed his younger self, doomed himself to a century-long imprisonment.

Unable to hold himself in the air any longer, the grief and knowledge too much, Aang swallowed and dropped; he fell into the icy water, letting the intense, numbing, frigid, bone-chilling cold seep into his soul and body. He felt heavy and didn't move, just letting his body be pulled down by the powerful grip of the ocean. It was too much! He couldn't handle it! What had he done? He had… done what he should have.

Aang slowly created an air bubble for himself and swam further down to the bottomless depths, following the thrum of power that hummed through the water. The glow began to reach his eyes and he eventually reached it, the Iceberg, his prison; it was beautiful, glowing a brilliant, ethereal bluish-white. Inside, the outline of the boy was there; his fists were pressed together, and his eyes were shut, Appa's form silhouetted behind him in a protective curl.

Floating closer, Aang stretched his bubble to surround the Iceberg; he placed his hands on the ice and felt the power, his power swirling inside. Ignoring it, he focused solely on the boy trapped inside and knelt down until his knees touched the thick rocks and minerals; he then gently pressed his forehead to the glowing ice.

"I'm sorry," he whispered brokenly, struggling to speak as his body shook; the tears overwhelmed him again and spilled down his cheeks, collecting on the ice. "I'm so sorry. When you awaken, the world that you knew… it will be gone, and a war-ravaged one will have unfairly taken its place. You… will be alone and you will be crushed by never-ceasing loneliness and grief; you will be scorned… and hunted, your very life at stake. You will be forced to heave the burden of saving the Mortal Realm, and death will follow you like an ominous shadow; unspeakable horrors will haunt you for the rest of your days." Aang quivered and scrunched his face against the ice; his fingernails clawed against it gently. "But you will be happy and find peace again; you will discover love in the most unexpected woman.

"You will have friends and family, among them a daughter who you love as your own. Your hardships will define you and you will survive. What is going to happen, what will have happened… it's not your fault. Sozin and Vaatu… they knew that the Avatar would be reborn in the Air Nomads; their evil isn't your fault, it's theirs. The genocide will not be your fault; you ran away because you thought it best and… it was the best. Now you have the chance to experience life… in all the ways that it was meant to be experienced. You must not give up hope, even when it seems hopeless; you will get through it… and you will succeed, I promise." Aang slowly backed away, his fingers brushing against the ice one last time. "Farewell, Avatar Aang. I hope that peace doesn't evade you… as it did me."

Aang stared at the boy and then rose out of the ocean on a water tornado, breaking through the water with a heavy heart. Dusk had fallen and he stared up at the sky, feeling the wind brush gently against the tears still visible on his cheeks. He ached everywhere and he yearned for Azula's touch, but he couldn't leave yet and return to the future, no matter how much that he wanted to. If he was ever to receive true peace and closure, healing from the grievous wounds suffered, he had to travel to the Southern Air Temple; he had to speak with Gyatso.

XxXxXxXxXxX

**That's all for this incredibly long one, folks, but it was fun to write, though. What do you think? Please, leave a review and tell me; it would be much appreciated!**

****So, it was finally Sokka's turn to have the maturity talk. I did it in front of the Gaang because, to me, that is the only way that he would understand. I love Sokka and some of my favorite moments from the show are because of him. I'm not picking on him because he's a non-bender. (Though, to be honest, pretty much every non-bender, realistically, in the Avatar universe doesn't necessarily have much to offer. They can't wield an element, how the entire world is based, and they don't live long because of their chi. I'm not trying to be racist or prejudiced, but that's, realistically, how life would be in Avatar. Sure, being a swordsman and genius could get you places but compared to a Firebender, Waterbender, Earthbender, or an Airbender, there is nothing that would ever really place a non-bender above a bender. From my vantage point, that's just a fact; a skinny dude with a brain is not going to be picked over the muscled dude with a brain. The only reason why Sokka was ever included in the show, in my opinion, was for comedic relief, which he was phenomenal at, but he needed this talk in front of everyone.) I just feel that Sokka's character and personality would never understand the facts of that talk unless he was the center of attention and forced to listen. (And he did listen later on; he began to understand why Aang was so angry because he was finally asking the right questions!)**

**You might be thinking that both Aang and Zuko were too hard on Sokka, but they weren't. First of all, Aang's nerves are seriously frayed; he had been unable to do anything as Azula was shot full of lightning by Ozai – he almost lost her. Sokka, along with Katara and Toph, pretty much abandoned Aang in this story after the Great War so Aang is already angry with him. Then, as Sokka's character dictates, he runs his mouth and can't leave things alone. He starts insulting Azula and Aang understandably snaps; he had every right to do what he did. Now, as for Zuko, he felt abandoned by Katara and Sokka, too. While he has forgiven Katara for what she did, it's because Katara did the hard work and seriously tried to understand the foul wrongs that she committed. Sokka only realized his great mistakes in this chapter, whereas intrinsically, Katara had always known but had been too wary to admit it until confronted head-on. So Zuko isn't too hard on Sokka, either; he's still angry and plus, Sokka did insult his sister, for whom he cares.**

**Azula finally forgives her mother for everything that happened! I thought that it was finally time for them to resolve their differences and I'm happy with how it came out. When writing it, I realized something. If Ursa had been able to take at least one child with her, most people would assume that she would have chosen Zuko, but I disagree. I think that Azula is who needed her mother most, not Zuko and I think that Ursa would have realized that. Azula was the one who broke under Ozai without Ursa, not Zuko; he found his way through Iroh's help and rebelled openly against Ozai, standing strong. Zuko's strength of will was stronger than Azula's, and even though that's a gross simplification, it rings true. Although, I will admit that if Zuko hadn't been exiled and scarred, he would have probably turned out the same as his father; honestly, his banishment was the best thing that could have happened to him.**

****Aang and Katara truly talk and it's more of an explosion by Aang; he finally lets out his anger and hurt. Katara, of course, isn't a fan of Aang's relationship with Azula and that makes Aang even madder, thus leading to some truths being thrown Katara's way about bloodbending and how she doesn't have a say in what Aang does. In this story, Avatar Kirku failed to continue the teachings of Waterbenders – he failed a whole lot, actually – and I believe that bloodbending would be an incredible way to heal someone, as Aang has shown. It has great potential but because of Hama's evil, Katara has been too fearful and disgusted by it to see the good it could do. So, she speaks with Avatar Kirku and begs him to teach her the true teachings that have been lost since his demise. Aang has a lot of anger towards Sokka and Katara but they are all on the road to recovering their friendships.**

****Zuko, Katara, Toph, and Ursa begin to master their chakras just as Azula had done. I hope that their blockage seemed realistic. I'm happy with how that all turned out.**

**The songs that Ursa sang are not mine. They are heavily based on songs from the** _**Hobbit** _ **and** _**Lord of the Rings** _ **. The one about Sozin is based on the** _**Song of Durin** _ **with some changed/removed lyrics** _**.** _ **While the one about Azulon was based on the** _**Lament for Thorin** _ **with changed/removed lyrics** _**.** _ **They are beautiful songs and I definitely recommend them to anyone; just YouTube it and listen to them if you ever have the time.**

**AG stands for After Genocide. Ursa said, '…Sozin died in 70 AG…' So, that means that seventy years after the genocide of the Air Nomads, Sozin kicked the bucket. Yes, Sozin lived for a really long time; the next chapter will explain why he did.**

****Ozai is resting from the wounds that Aang gave him and Vaatu reassures him that there is a way to heal him; you'll have to see what it is!**

****The Children of Chin are all from the various bloodlines that began with Chin the Conqueror. In my mind, I've always kind of seen Chin the Conqueror as Genghis Khan; he had a lot of children and was a fearsome warlord, so I used the comparison. In case you don't remember, Chin the Conqueror was the dude who tried to conquer the entire Earth Kingdom and who Kyoshi killed, creating Kyoshi Island in the process. Yes, Chin V and his sister are in an incestuous relationship; it was quite common in dynasties in the old days for siblings and cousins to beget heirs together to keep "it" in the family, and by it, I mean royal power. (In fact, I've seen several stories where Zuko and Azula are in such a relationship, although I think that's clearly nothing short of a disaster and wrong.)**

****Shout out to** _**gaara king of the sand** _ **for the idea of Aang going back in time thanks to the of Time. I thought it was great; I loved the idea. The Tree of Time is the creator of the Spirit World; he is the incarnation of Time itself and is incalculably powerful; he is the parent of Raava and Vaatu, in essence. I just one to clear something up: Raava and Vaatu are clear representations of the Taoism religion of Yin and Yang – just the Moon and Ocean Spirits are. So, I reckoned that Raava and Vaatu, who are the creators of the Elemental Spirits, sought to create two spirits that are similar to them – the Ocean and Moon. The fact that the Ocean and Moon chose the form of black and white Koi Fish when giving up their immortality is just coincidence, I suppose.**

**I think Aang going back in time is realistic; he can see with his own eyes how different the world was back then from what he thought that it had been. Let's be honest, Aang remembers the era from when he was born through a child's naivety and innocence. The world wasn't that way, it couldn't be. That's not how human nature works and there are always great problems. Add in Vaatu's darkness beginning to sway Sozin and probably others, that time period is brimming with problems and tension. When war is on the horizon, things aren't good beforehand. It's not as how he had thought, and he is finally seeing; he realizes that, just maybe, the Great War should have happened as the Tree of Time dictated. Also, he has had a good life in spite of everything; it's all looking up for him, now, and he has to decide whether he can live without that new life.**

**The Air Nomads are not how Aang remembers them; there is a lot that he never knew about his people, his culture. I've never been a fan of how Canon has defined the Air Nomads as a utopia that was a perfect race; that's asinine. It's completely unrealistic because every nation has darkness and blots in their legacies that they can't escape from. (For real-life history, look at the United States of America. The country is the greatest to ever exist, but it has still had major problems that will always haunt them.) The Air Nomads are said to never give birth to non-benders, only Airbenders. There must be a realistic reason for that, so I made one; it makes a lot more sense for the Elders of the Temples to discard non-bending children and keep it a secret than for the Air Nomads to be this perfect airbending race who has a 100% airbending-baby rate. Yes, I know Canon's explanation for the reason why the Air Nomads are all Airbenders is that of their spirituality, but I don't necessarily believe that; it doesn't make too much sense, in my opinion, based on everything in Canon among other things.**

**There is a legend about the Spartans of Ancient Greece, how they would throw imperfect, weak, or deformed newborns off of cliffs; that's where I got the idea for the Elders, who, besides for Gyatso, all already seemed like callous and cruel fools in Canon, to pitch non-airbending children off the Air Temples. Also, their isolation from the other nations is incredibly foolish and doesn't bode well in comparison with real-life history. Because of their isolation, they have no allies and aren't able to adjust to the changing world. The isolation is a perfect example of how they aren't the enlightened race that everyone claims they are because isolationism isn't truly wise. They became stagnant and their culture would clash too much with the other nations. The Four Nations have incredibly different cultures and that is referenced perfectly by Chief Kuhna and Aang's conversation, which is always something that I wished to see in Canon. The Water Tribes are appalled by the Air Nomads, and the Air Nomads are appalled by their consumption of meat and killing. The same could be said for the other nations; the Great War could have been a culture war instead of just world domination and I kind of wished that it would have shown more culture clashes in Canon, but I suppose this will do with what I wrote.**

**I added the part about the younger Aang in the storm caused by the older Aang because I thought that it was dreadfully, sorrowfully beautiful for Aang to put his younger self in the Iceberg. It would certainly hurt but in the long run, he can finally achieve true peace by letting go of his greatest nightmare. The Iceberg is where everything began for him, where his world turned upside down; he was trapped in it for a century while the rest of the world suffered. Aang is coming full-circle, now, and I think that's symbolic. By allowing, by physically putting his younger self into the Iceberg, Aang has finally accepted that the way that things happened to him, getting stuck in the Iceberg while the rest of the world suffered, was probably the best thing that could have happened to him; it was the best possible outcome to a nightmarish situation.**

**I think that's everything. I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter. I'd love to hear what you all thought about it, so please leave a review and tell me!**

_**Stay Safe** _  
**ButtonPusher**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate hearing the feedback from you guys!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender**

XxXxXxXxXxX

The sun had just risen over the horizon, bringing forth a new day. Jaded, dark clouds sought to hinder the sunrise, but it was futile; Fire reigned supreme. The air was cold, aloof; it foreshadowed the events that would come to pass that very day, the day when Sozin's Comet arrived – it was the day when the Air Nomads would all be slaughtered. It was the day that Aang had been given the chance to change, to make it better and he would save his people! While he may have chosen to condemn himself to the century-long sleep, it didn't mean that he couldn't save his people; they would be there when his younger self awoke from the Iceberg!

He had refused to think of Chief Kuhna's words about the Air Nomads, about how the Tree of Time had said things that he knew made too much sense. Aang had long since begun to feel numb; he had a choice to make. Would he abide by the Tree of Time's decision and allow his people's genocide, or not?

He hadn't rested since he caused the storm that had sentenced himself to the Iceberg; he knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep. He had continued his journey through the night and now that Agni's light was beginning to pierce across the mountains that he flew past, he felt his numbness begin to fade away. Then he saw it! The Southern Air Temple was more beautiful than it had ever been before; it was alive, and tears welled in Aang's gray eyes when he glimpsed Airbenders –  _living, breathing Airbenders!_  – and Sky Bison playing on the Temple grounds and flying by the ledge of the Temple. The Airball Court was very crowded, and he saw many of the boys with whom he had played during his childhood dominating the game.

It was everything that he had remembered but even more beautiful. Tears spilled down his cheeks as he observed his home and he memorized the sight; he knew it would become one of his fondest memories no matter his decision.

Finally looking away, he rose even higher into the sky and stared at Agni's light. Soon, the Fire Spirit's people would commit the worst recorded deed in the history of the Four Nations. Soon, dozens and dozens of Dragons with more than ten Firebenders on each would flood through the sky under the unholy power of Sozin's Comet and unleash annihilation on Aang's home and people.

He could change that and looking at the brimming Airball Court, he decided that he was going to change that!

Dashing through the sky, not knowing when Sozin's Comet would appear with Sozin's legions of depraved Firebenders, Aang approached the back of the Temple, looking for the secret entrance that he had found in the future; he now knew everything about the secrets of the Air Temples. It was painless to enter when he punched out a small gust of wind into the innocent-looking rock; the hidden door opened soundlessly.

He summoned a small flame and entered, gray eyes anxiously scanning his surroundings before he stepped forward. Once everything was clear – everyone seemed to be at the Airball Court, unaware of the coming calamity – he took his first step in the un-desecrated Southern Air Temple.

He had walked the halls countless times, but never with the reverence that he did now; he brushed his fingers across the walls that held no dried blood, the ones that hadn't yet witnessed death. After a moment of basking in the peace that he now felt –  _Chief Kuhna and the Tree of Time's words must have been wrong!_  – Aang stretched out his senses, aching to truly speak with one of his fellow Air Nomads; not all of them could be at the Airball Courts. He immediately froze when he felt the familiar, yet almost forgotten presence of the Elders; they were convened for High Council. And there, amongst them, he felt Gyatso.

Aang swallowed and immediately used his airbending to dash to the top of the Temple, running up the stairs in a mere moment; he appeared silently before the High Council's doors, but he didn't enter. He jumped to the top where a hole would allow him to watch and listen.

Tears welled in his eyes once more when he saw his Master standing before the other Elders; the familiar sight lightened his heart, but his features contorted into a frown when he realized what they were convened about: Aang's own disappearance.

"He is a fool," Tashi declared angrily. "We don't know where he is; nobody does! Or do you know, Gyatso, but have failed to tell us?"

Gyatso's posture tightened slightly, "Aang was not wrong to run away."

"Of course you- "

"You claim Aang to be the fool, but the only fools are you, all of you!" Gyatso snapped and Aang's lips parted at the real fury emanating from his Master in a wave. "Yes, it was an impulsive choice, but did he have another one?"

Pasang was the only one of the Elders who didn't look angry by Gyatso's words – yet. "I chose to send him to the Eastern Air Temple to complete his training."

"What training does he need, Pasang?" Gyatso's words chided on disrespect. "He is the fastest Master Airbender, fastest Master bender in the history of the Four Nations! What else of Air does he need? If anything, Aang should have been sent to the Water Tribes to master waterbending as the Avatar Cycle demands. I would have traveled with him- "

"No, you wouldn't have," Tashi cut in and Aang could feel his own anger mounting; he was prepared to reveal himself, to interrupt them all, but… something stalled him. "Aang- "

"Is only a boy!" Gyatso cried out with raw emotion, "He just turned 12-years-old! He is not a young man as Roku was before him when my friend came to train and learn with us! I have seen your eyes judging Aang ever since he was born, since his discovery as Roku's successor; you have assessed and weighed him but always found him lacking. I have said nothing in the past to keep Aang's style of life peaceful, but no more; he is gone because of your judgment! He thought your challenges to him were only fun, effortless games, but he would have learned; he would have lost himself because of it! He needs peace, not order and duty; he needs freedom, as Air preaches but you have all neglected! He needs fun, excitement, and love; he needs to live as a boy before he becomes a man – it's the natural order. Why has the Avatar never been told of their destiny before their sixteenth year?"

"We didn't have a choice, Gyatso," Pasang cut in, looking weary. "Once again, your emotions for the boy are clouding your judgment."

"His name is Aang. My judgment is finally enlightened, and I fear of what is to come because of your foolishness. He is too young to shoulder the weight of the world, of the Realms. He is not ready; he never has been! He is the Avatar, yes, but first and foremost, he is Aang!"

"But the signs of coming war- "

"Are unavoidable, no matter if Aang knows or not. We all knew that something was terribly wrong when Roku aged the way that he did, how he died so young for an Avatar."

"Don't bring that up, Gyatso," Tashi shook his head in disgust. "We've all heard the rumors from your lips about what Sozin might have done, but not even the Fire Lord would dare kill the Avatar – it's unprecedented! We are tired of hearing your theories about Roku. When Aang was given to you, it only augmented your lunacy! Because we gave him to you, he has left during our most dire need! This is your fault, not ours!"

"I do not condemn Aang's choice, not at all. In fact, I applaud it; he was wiser than all of you. Your rash and short-sighted demands caused this and the only thing that I wish to be different would be me joining him." Aang put a hand over his mouth to keep himself from making a distressed noise. "He will save the Realms but not because of what you have done; he will do it on his own."

"The fate of the world must be in balance." Pasang's voice finally rose and he stared at Gyatso intently. "Whatever Aang wants or needs doesn't matter when he must save this world; he is the Avatar!"

Gyatso shook his head mournfully, "I have learned and realized much since Aang was told of his true identity, of his divine might. You all wish for the Avatar to fix everything; you want Aang to shoulder the fate of the world. You do not want to do anything yourself; you want Aang to do it for us, just as the rest of the Four Nations do." Aang watched, stunned, as his Master didn't even blink at the growing anger of the other Elders. "If you truly cared for the balance of the world, Pasang, you would have messaged the other nations – at least Earth and Water – of Sozin's intentions of conquest. Yet, you chose not to; the other Temples did not message Earth and Water, as well."

"It is not the Air Nomad way, Gyatso!" Tashi barked out, "Show respect with whom you speak- "

"I will not, Tashi. The Air Nomad way is broken; it has been for a long time and the realization only swept through me recently. Our isolation has made us outcasts in the minds of others; they care not for us, nor what we think."

"Your words are too far, my friend," Pasang warned sternly. "You are dangerously unbalanced, unhinged."

"No, I see clearer than before. The world has gone terribly wrong; it has been wrong for many centuries, if not longer. I suspect that no one, not even Roku himself, ever knew how wrong it was; it has culminated to this moment, to you pushing Aang to run away. We know not the worst of it, but it will become worse, I fear, so very much worse before it ever gets better."

"If Aang didn't run away, then none of what is to come would happen," Pasang stated evenly and Aang inhaled slowly, fascinated by the words being exchanged angrily between Gyatso and the rest of the High Council. "He would stop it, as is his duty; his training at the Eastern Air Temple would have made certain of it."

Gyatso looked incredibly disappointed, "You wish for Aang to master the Avatar State; that was your plan."

"Yes. Guru Pathik is notorious for his knowledge of such things. Aang would defeat this war before it starts with the mastered Avatar State; he would possess all of the power of Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, Yangchen, and all of those who came before him."

"Aang is not meant to master the Avatar State until he masters all of the elements! That is how it is! The Avatar isn't meant to have uncontrolled access to such power until they are ready. Do you truly think that we could… control that power, Aang's power and direct it at whom we please? That is unspeakable arrogance!"

"He is the greatest prodigy of whom we have ever heard, Gyatso. He would have succeeded; nothing else would have been accepted."

"Those words are what I have always feared, Pasang. Deep down, Aang may be immortal with strength and knowledge beyond anyone, but he is just as mortal as the rest of us; he has fears and doubts. He craves love and affection; he is only a boy!"

"He should have stayed!" Pasang stood to his feet and it was the first time in Aang's memory when he had seen the monk truly angry. "Then we could have warded off the invasion that will undoubtedly come with him here, regardless if he has the Avatar State or not."

"Aang is not to blame for not being here! You all think that, but you are wrong; the only ones to blame are us, not him, never him. He cannot hope to face Sozin's warriors, not yet; not on the day of the Great Comet itself when he has only mastered airbending! The Fire Lord's power is beyond any other Firebender, and on that day, which could be any day now, his strength will be augmented beyond anything that any of us have ever imagined."

"The Great Comet?" Tashi snorted in derision, "Sozin wouldn't dare invade on that day; he can't do anything to us. The Fire Nation hasn't ever touched Air since Fire Lord Houka's despicable actions centuries ago."

"You are an arrogant fool, Tashi!" Gyatso snapped; anger was lined in his posture. "Sozin killed Roku and he will try to kill Aang; he wants the Avatar's might extinguished so his own power will stretch across the Four Nations. He will attack us to get to Aang because there is only one being alive of whom Sozin would ever be afraid: the Avatar."

"You're delusional! Your mind has- "

"What are you saying, Gyatso?" Pasang interrupted Tashi, sitting back down. "You think that…"

"We will lose much," his Master stated bluntly. "We already lost Aang, but our race will be lost, too, I fear. From the ashes, though, new life will bloom; Sozin's evil will bring a blessing to the world through Aang. I've seen it in my dreams. We will all be redeemed from our foolish actions; we will be redeemed for losing our way."

Pasang was quiet for a moment, features frowning deeply. "I think that you've said enough, Gyatso. Leave us so that we can meditate in peace."

Gyatso tilted his head up, "You will have plenty of time to do that, Pasang, in the Gardens of the Dead after the Temples burn and we are all but ash." Aang watched, stunned, as his Master didn't give the other Elders time to respond as he walked out of the room without looking back.

"He is the fool above all fools!" Tashi spat once Gyatso was gone and Aang found that he couldn't leave, not yet. "His coddling of Aang has ruined us all!"

"His heart has been dangerously corrupted," Pasang said slowly. "His enlightenment has fled him; he is now no longer a member of the High Council."

"He should be excommunicated, as well; he is the cause of this!"

"We'll see, Tashi, we'll see."

Aang slowly descended back to the ground and closed his eyes; he didn't feel as euphoric as he had previously. What would happen to Gyatso if he saved his people? Chief Kuhna and the Tree of Time's words returned suddenly and screamed in his mind:  _'…_ _while the Air Nomads were the last to fall, they fell the fastest and hardest; they became the worst out of them all.' 'You pitch your non-bending children off of the ledges of your Air Temples!'_ Chief Kuhna had said that Avatar Kuruk had declared his aversion for the Air Nomads boldly and while Aang briefly contemplated summoning his former life out of his soul, he ignored the idea. He didn't trust Kuruk; he was still furious at his past life for his actions in the Spirit World against Azula when they had visited Koh.

Before he did anything rash such as brazenly entering to confront the High Council, Aang knew that he needed the truth and there was only one person who he trusted enough, to be honest with him who had the knowledge necessary: Gyatso. Anxiety flooded him at the thought of speaking with his Master, but he controlled his emotions; he clenched his fists and tried to catch Gyatso as he floated through the halls, but his Master had vanished. After a moment of thought, he darted towards Gyatso's quarters, which were on the upper levels but not the level that he was currently on; he would need to descend.

Aang knew the route by heart for after he had remodeled the Southern Air Temple after the Great War, he had claimed Gyatso's room for his own. Knowing that time was crucial, he stretched his senses to make sure that Gyatso was in his room, but to his shock, it was empty! Desperately, feeling his senses shift, he focused everywhere in the Temple and halted when he found his Master; Gyatso was in Aang's former quarters.

He blinked back the sudden onslaught of tears that threatened to overwhelm him. Slowly, he gathered his composure and descended the stairs and entered the hallway but froze when the air currents shifted; he felt a warm body approaching. He felt the presence for a brief moment and when he realized that it wasn't Gyatso, he grit his teeth and swiftly used his earthbending to conceal himself in the wall itself; he created a small hole for his eyes.

It was Afiko.

Narrowing his eyes at the young man, who was around Zuko's age when dawning the mantle of Fire Lord, Aang remembered all of the contempt that Afiko had held for him, especially how it had blazed after his reveal as the Avatar; it had towered between them like a mountain of Afiko's hatred. Then, eventually, only indifference seemed to hinder Afiko's sight when they were forced to converse; it was a stunning change that his younger self had never truly thought about.

"It is the day," the other Airbender murmured as he passed where Aang was hiding. "I will be rewarded; they will come."

The realization was blinding in its intensity and Aang swallowed thickly; it was impossible for anyone but an Airbender or Sky Bison to reach the Air Temples. Only Air Nomads knew the location of the Temples and Aang had always wondered how Sozin's armies had found his people and now, he knew why. The Fire Nation had received help and that is how the Dragons reached – or will reach – the Temples; he knew who had betrayed them.

Sliding soundlessly out of the wall behind the unsuspecting Afiko, Aang was prepared to… he didn't know; he watched the ignorant Afiko turn a corner instead of confronting him. He still needed to speak with Gyatso, and he possessed no proof that Afiko had betrayed the Air Nomads, that he was the reason why Sozin's armies were so successful under Sozin's Comet; he had only suspicious theories based on his own doubts.

Shaking his head, clearing away the whispers, he dashed through the hallway and came to halt when the hauntingly familiar door appeared; it was his old room, a room he had never been able to enter after the Great War. Aang swallowed and waved a small gust of wind into the small horn; the door slid open silently and he gathered his courage and stepped into his room.

Gyatso was hunched over the Pai Sho board, back facing Aang; his eyes stared almost uncomprehendingly at the scene that was so… familiar. The door shut behind him and he tried to say something, but his emotions prohibited him; he was deprived of words.

"I would think that my words to you, Pasang, would have made my feelings perfectly clear." Gyatso's words were cold, bordering on furious, yet there was deep sadness; his Master, in spite of that, sounded angrier than Aang had ever thought possible. "I yearn to be alone before destruction snuffs out our race… I warned you all, but you dismissed my concerns; you were more arrogant than any Firebender who I have met. Now, because of your deeds and follies, Aang is gone. Wherever he is, he will be lost because I will not be there, because no Air Nomad will be; he will be confused, angry, and hurt. He will be alone for Sozin will leave no stone unturned."

"I'm right here," he whispered with tears spilling down his cheeks; his Master's posture straightened immediately. "I'm not alone, Gyatso."

"Who are you?" His Master whirled around, and their eyes connected; light seemed to explode in Aang's mind. Gyatso stood up, face pale and eyes wide; he swallowed. "Aang…? Is that… you? You are… here? But… you are…"

"It's me," he choked out and stepped closer putting a hand on his Master's shoulder; it was real! "It's Aang, I swear," with his other hand, he pulled up his hair to show his arrow; Gyatso's lips parted.

"My boy," his Master whispered and before Aang could even react, he was pulled into a tight hug. "You are here… How is this possible?"

After controlling his tears, Aang pulled back to stare at Gyatso's awestruck eyes. "It seems impossible, but I'm… I'm from the future; the Tree of Time gifted me the chance to change everything from happening. That includes saving you and the Air Nomads." When his words seemed to stun his Master, even more, he put his thumbs on Gyatso's chest and forehead, focusing his energybending to give him the knowledge necessary for him to understand.

His master blinked when he removed his thumbs, and then he smiled with such pride. "I have heard legends of energybending from the Order but never imagined that anyone would ever master it. My boy, you have grown so much," he placed a warm hand against Aang's cheek. "You are a fully-realized Avatar at such a young age; your predecessors have only ever mastered, at most, two elements by your age. Oh, Aang, I am so proud of you, just as I have always been."

Aang's lips curled before he remembered. "Yes, I know that, but didn't you hear me? The Air Nomads will… they'll be slaughtered by Sozin, but I've been given the chance by the Tree of Time to save you all. I can… save you, Master. I can atone for my mistakes."

"I had never imagined that I would see you again," his Master ignored his words and looked him over. "You are so big, now, and hair on your head and with stubble on your cheeks, jaw, and chin! You have grown taller than I had ever thought, but you no longer wear Air Nomad garbs… Were they destroyed? And where is your glider?" Gyatso blinked and then he grinned impishly and Aang could do nothing but stare back at him in shock. "Oh, that's right: the energybending revealed that you have mastered true flight, ignoring Keska's decree. I had always wished to learn the art but was unable to; the Order's records about it were scarce."

"Wait… that's how you knew of true flight?" Aang whispered, "You're part of the Order of the White Lotus?"

"I am, Aang. My allegiance to the Avatar has always been part of me since I met Roku; he was a good friend."

Aang shook his head, "That doesn't matter; we're wasting time! Don't you know? Sozin's Comet is today! Any moment now, the Temple will be attacked and… you will… you'll die!"

Gyatso turned and sat down at the Pai Sho board. "Come, Aang. Please, sit. We need to talk." Aang sat down in frustration; he didn't understand! Why didn't Gyatso feel any urgency? "First, why do you wish to change what has come to pass, my boy? Whatever your power as the Avatar, do you claim to know better than Time itself?" His Master peered at him, wise eyes assessing. "You have already created a new life for yourself, Aang. There is no sense in putting that at risk."

"You don't understand!" Aang stared at him desperately, "I'm the last one, the last of us all; there is no one else. All I have is Appa and Momo, but that's it! There are no more Airbenders because of my cowardice, but I can… I can fix that now. Don't you see that? I have the power. I'm ready!"

"Oh, Aang," his Master said softly. "You must forgive yourself once more. Why do you keep punishing yourself? I know that you've mastered your chakras; you can't keep doing this to yourself. There is no sense in punishing yourself for the mistakes of the past, for things that you had no control over. In order to heal, you must first forgive yourself."

"No," he shook his head rapidly. "I can save all of you!"

"My boy, as you already know, there is a reason the Tree of Time allowed the coming calamity."

Aang swallowed, "How are you so calm about this? Don't you understand? Sozin will be here and butcher all of you! How can you just… just sit there in peace?"

Gyatso smiled gently and patted his clenched fist. "Because I know now that you are safe; it is all that I have ever wanted." His Master's eyes darkened in sadness, "You have not had much peace, have you, Aang?"

"No, I haven't," he whispered. "The Great War took everything from me; the peace that you always taught me to grasp has been absent since my awakening from the Iceberg."

"But it has slowly returned to you, yes? Who was that woman I glimpsed? Azula, was it? You love her and she has brought you peace. You have built a life for yourself, Aang."

"I can never regain the full peace unless I save all of you and stop Sozin!"

"Do you truly believe that, Aang, or have you forced yourself to instead of accepting what has happened?"

"Stop with the riddles!" Aang smashed his fist on the Pai Sho board and it cracked ominously. "Damn it, I just… I don't…" his anger swiftly faded with hollowed truth. "I don't know what I want."

"I will help you, my boy." Gyatso created a small air scooter and sat next to him; he leaned his head on his Master's shoulder. "This will be my final lesson to teach you."

"Don't say that," he whispered. "I can't bear it right now."

"I will accept whatever decision you choose, Aang, whether it is the correct or wrong choice."

"How do I make the choice? I feel like I'm wandering aimlessly in a lost haze of misery, dangling over two pits of vipers and I don't know which one to choose to fall into!"

"Not all those who wander are lost, Aang, but I think that you have already chosen."

"What do you mean?" Aang raised his head and looked up at him in bemusement. "What are you talking about?"

"If you truly believed that you should save the Air Nomads and stop Sozin, then you would not be here speaking with me. You would have already destroyed all of the legions before they reached not just this Air Temple, but all of the Temples. You already know what needs to happen; you just need to accept it. You are here for reassurance, to know if you have chosen wisely."

With bulging eyes, he stared at his Master. "That… I…" the realization was horrible, but he knew it to be true. "You're right. I think that I have chosen, but why did I?"

"Because deep down in your immortal soul, you know the truth and understand, that is why. I cannot imagine the burden that you have felt, but you can release it now. Your decision is the correct one."

"There are things that I've heard about the Air Nomads… Are they true? Have they fallen so much? Did they… pitch non-benders off of the ledges of the Air Temples?"

Gyatso's lips turned mournfully. "It is true, Aang, all of it. Long, long before the time of Avatar Yangchen, the Air Nomads wanted all of their children to be Airbenders. The Elders reached consensus: they would… purge the non-benders out of their society when they were babies, small children." Aang listened, horrified by what he was hearing. "The spiritually-blessed were notorious for their airbending bloodlines, so the Elders forced all of the bloodlines to become pure by discarding the non-benders, believing it would secure everyone's spirituality, and then quickly, Airbenders were all who were born. The practice continued for centuries when the rare non-bender was born. Avatar Kuruk… when he was training at the Temple, was furious, revolted when he learned of the tradition; he condemned us and absconded with airbending scrolls instead of remaining for his training. Legend says that he and Yangchen were never amiable after that… Kuruk was never seen at an Air Temple again, except to prohibit the practice. But by then, it was already too late; the Air Nomads had all secured their bloodlines to only sire Airbenders. There has never been a non-bender born to our people since before Kuruk's time; it was a systematic infanticide that secured such notoriety with the other nations for all of our children being born Airbenders."

Aang's eyes closed, "How far have the Air Nomads fallen?"

"Quite far," his Master's words were blunt but gentle. "We were once lauded as the greatest of the Four Nations, held in such esteem that all Avatars always returned annually to the Temples after they became fully-realized. But it has not been that way for a long time; we lost our way. We have become narrow-sighted and foolishly incompetent with remarkable arrogance. We are cold and distant, now, and hold no compassion for anyone; Tashi is an excellent example of that." Gyatso sighed and Aang was transfixed by how bleak his people sounded, now. Had he never seen it because he had been so young? "I have sought to rectify those terrible mistakes but have gotten nowhere; we are a failed race, now. The High Council of Elders has been gaining more and more power these past centuries and I fear of what it means. Only those of us Air Nomads who are allied with the Order of the White Lotus have disagreed with Air's path."

"I never knew…" he said softly. "But my decision still feels forced, somehow. I… know that I shouldn't do anything, that I should… let you all… die, but I don't want to."

"I am so proud of you, Aang, proud of the man and Avatar who you have become." Gyatso's eyes were kind and understanding, "I have always been proud of you; you were my pride and joy. You were always ahead of everyone, wise beyond your years and it is because of that, that I know that you can do what I say. You must let go of the past, Aang. Holding onto your past, to what has happened so strenuously will not allow the Airbenders to return through you. You must stop dwelling on what was and focus on what it will become. Only then will a clear path reveal itself to you."

"I don't know how to do that anymore," he whispered brokenly, gray eyes clouding. "I don't how to let go of the past; the past is what has shaped me!"

"Indeed, you are correct, but holding onto the past so much is not healthy; you will never be able to move on and feel the peace that you desperately crave until you let it go."

"But how do I do that?"

Gyatso's hand touched his cheek, "By accepting everything that has happened."

"That implies that it's easy," he murmured. "I've already accepted it in the past, but it still haunts me!"

"You were never able to accept it fully before because you were not given this choice, this chance by the Tree of Time, Aang. Only be being here, right now in the past on the day when Sozin's armies turn us to ash, can you truly accept everything that has happened – that will happen in the next century before your awakening."

"And it's so hard…" he shut his eyes. "I don't want to."

"You are the Avatar, the great keeper of light and even when Vaatu's darkness encompasses the Realms, he can never snuff out the light." Gyatso smiled at him encouragingly when Aang opened his eyes. "To succeed and to be able to let go, learn to look beyond achieving peace for just the Realms, but for yourself, too. You are the Avatar, yes, but first and foremost, you are Aang."

He swallowed, "You said that in the meeting with the other Elders."

"You were there? You were… listening?"

"And watching," he smiled sadly. "The Elders, except for you, are the perfect example of how far the Air Nomads have fallen, I think. I never liked Tashi; he was always grumpy."

"That is true," his Master laughed, and the sound relieved him; it also made it harder to allow what was to come. "You will always fail in whatever you do, Aang, if you do not look for peace for yourself."

"That's what I'm doing, now! It's why I'm here, why I… was going to save you all."

"Then you are realizing the truth."

"What truth?"

"If you are not at peace, the world will not be either. The greatest darkness that threatens the Realms isn't Vaatu, but yourself."

Aang looked at his Master, stunned. "Why? What… darkness do I bring?"

"Because you desperately cling to the past; he who clings to the past can never see clearly. You must let it go, Aang." Gyatso stepped back, eyes serious and wise. "It is time to let go of the past, so that you can return to the future, to the life that you have made for yourself."

The words triggered his fear and he rebelled against his Master's near-command. "But I can save all of you! Don't you realize that?" Aang cried out in desperation, wishing that Gyatso would tell him to stay. "I can fight the Fire Nation, destroy them all with a wave of my hand if I entered the Avatar State! I can stop our people's genocide. When Sozin's Comet arrives, I could crush the Fire Lord's armies, annihilating them as they did to you!"

"Of course, you are right, Aang," his Master nodded, shocking him. "You could destroy them; you currently hold all of the power. You are the Avatar, and what you decide to do with the immortal power that you possess is your decision. Yet, it is already too late to crush all of Sozin's armies. Not even you can be at all four Air Temples at once to stop what is coming; deep down, you have already chosen, my boy. Why do you fight it?"

"I'm scared," he whispered, blinking his eyelids rapidly to keep the tears at bay. "This was my chance to… to stop it all, to have the life that I had always wanted."

"But is it still the life that you want, Aang?" Gyatso peered up at him and he was unable to look away. "I think that you are obsessed with a past that was only a fantasy. My boy, there is so much wrong with this world, with this era, with this time. You never knew how wrong because you were so young and that is why you have struggled; you are in love with a past that never even existed, that was built-up to a standard in your mind that was always unattainable. But now you have slowly learned of the truth about this era, about the world, and most importantly, the truth about our race. What was it that the Tree of Time had said? Why was Time itself allowing Vaatu to commence his evil plan?"

"To save the Realms from collapsing into nothingness," he answered softly.

"You have already made your choice, Aang. Are you selfish enough to condemn the Realms to destruction?"

"No, I'm not, but to keep that from happening, I'll… I'll have to condemn you and the rest of the Air Nomads to death."

"But the Air Nomads will be reborn through your children. I've seen glimpses of the future these past days since you left; it is greater than any Air Nomad has ever experienced. Everything will be okay, I promise."

He swallowed in realization and the tears spilled down his cheeks. "There's nothing that I can do."

"No, there isn't, but we can do something about your garbs."

Aang laughed brokenly, "I suppose we can."

Gyatso pulled him by the arm towards the window. "Come, I will lead you to grab new ones before you return to your time."

He suddenly realized that he had no idea where the Southern Air Temple kept the Air Nomad clothing; he had found Air Nomad garbs after the Great War after he had grown only in the Eastern Air Temple.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Aang felt the blood drain away from his face in a rush when he realized where they were going; it was where he had seen Gyatso's skeleton after his awakening from the Iceberg, where the armor of slain Firebenders had assaulted his younger self's eyes!

"Stop!" He stumbled back, the panic and horror returning swiftly. "You can't be here! You need to get away from here; you'll… you'll die!"

Gyatso stopped in his steps and his eyes were unreadable. "This is my choice, Aang. Will you take that away from me? Are you that kind of Avatar?"

"No, but- "

"But nothing," his Master said gently and grabbed his arm with surprising strength; he pulled him into the cursed building. "I am at peace with this decision and what will happen. Nothing will change my mind."

Rows of Air Nomad garbs met his eyes and he nodded slowly in understanding but grief, too. Before he could say anything, his lips parted as the unforgettable feeling of fire flushing through his blood swept through him; outside, the sky was undoubtedly bathed in red. Aang's eyes closed at the onslaught of realization. "It's arrived; it's happening. Sozin's Comet is here; it's entered the atmosphere. Sozin will be here soon, if he's not already."

"Then we must hurry," his Master picked out garbs and Aang took off his cloak, exposing his back. "I see that this war will not be kind to you," Gyatso whispered, looking at his scar sadly. "What was it?"

"It was lightning," he grabbed the garment and slipped it on, feeling something shift inside him at wearing his nation's colors once more. "It was Azula who shot me."

"Azula?" Gyatso looked astonished, "You mean the same Azula who- "

"Yes. I forgave her- "

"That's good."

"- and have to everyone's surprise including my own, fallen in love with her."

"She will make an excellent Mother of the Air Nomads."

"I know," he heard the roars of Dragons and flashes of fire outside, the haunting screams of his people; the Temple shook ominously for the Fire Nation had arrived. "It's… it's time…"

"It is, my boy."

"You can come with me," he offered in distress. "I'll take us both."

"We both know you that you cannot, Aang. No matter how much I may want to go with you, I am just as much a product of the failures of our people's fall as any Air Nomad. My time is over, but yours has scarcely begun; you have your whole life ahead of you. Stop living in the past and you will find your peace. You must let go of the life that you had planned so that you can accept the one that is waiting for you in the future." Gyatso pulled him into a fierce hug and Aang reciprocated, squeezing tightly as tears spilled down his cheeks. "It is time to let go," his Master pulled back with misty eyes and to Aang's shock, placed his thumbs on his chest and forehead; he gasped as knowledge flooded his mind, and after several moments, it stopped. "I learned how to do that from you when you did it to me earlier. I have given you the knowledge and memories of all of the Air Nomad culture and the forbidden bending forms that you never knew; it will live on in you."

"Goodbye, Gyatso," he choked out. "Thank you, thank you for everything. There is so much that I want to say."

"I know and I feel the same about you." The building around them shook and Gyatso smiled sadly. "Ever since I was a young boy, I've learned of no attachments, but you are the son who I never knew I needed or had, Aang."

Before he could respond, a voice echoed outside. "There are some in there; kill them all. Find the Avatar!"

"GO!" Gyatso cried out but he was too slow to disappear into the earth; Afiko led Firebenders into the building and stared at them in disgust.

"Keep the old one alive; he is the Avatar's Master!" Afiko narrowed his eyes at Aang and a sudden suspicious look swept across his features. "I don't recognize you… but you look…"

Aang lashed out and directed a massive gust of wind to sweep them away, but he and Gyatso were at a major disadvantage because they were in an enclosed space; the soldiers' firebending was even more potent because of it and their flames kept them from being swept away. Quickly, plumes of bone-melting fire blazed toward them both and Aang did the only thing that he could.

He unleashed his own flames to counter, and he glimpsed their sudden expressions of awe and fear and realization.

"It's the Avatar!" One of the soldiers screamed, "KILL HIM!"

Gyatso suddenly punched his own airbending forward. "Run, Aang, RUN!" His Master leaped in front of him and began rotating his arms and suddenly, Aang felt the air vanish from inside the building; he couldn't breathe but looking at the Firebenders, they were dying of suffocation, unable to use their firebending even under Sozin's unholy Comet.

Afiko wavered and tried to dash forward but Aang, while conserving his oxygen, used his earthbending to trap his feet; the Betrayer fell and then the air returned and Aang could breathe. The Fire Nation soldiers were dead, lying in front of him; he remembered how he had done something similar to Kuei, the Council of Five, the Dai Li, and Ozai.

"I'm sorry that you had to witness that," his Master whispered. "I wanted to keep you safe."

"THEY ARE IN HERE!" Afiko screamed and fired blasts of air at them from his trapped position but Aang smacked them aside. "HELP ME!"

Aang's eyes widened when he heard the sound of footsteps running towards the building and Gyatso pushed him to the side. "You must go!"

With a heavy heart and one last look at his Master, Aang sunk into the earth, disappearing from sight; he knew that he should leave this time, but he couldn't, not yet. Instead, he re-appeared at the top of a hill before the building; he watched as a lot more Firebenders entered into the building and he felt the whole fight through his earthbending and airbending. The Comet-enhanced Firebenders swarmed Gyatso but the air howled inside the building, morphing into violent, skin and metal-cutting wind; the bodies began to fall, their lungs being crushed by his Master's lethal attacks as he compressed the air in their lungs until they burst. Gusts of wind flattened them against the wall, shattering their spines in spite of their armor and soon enough, no Firebenders remained but Afiko did.

A mighty gust of wind smashed the treacherous Airbender out of the building and he crashed into the blood-stained stone of the mountain. Gyatso stepped out of the building, "Why would you do this, Afiko?"

Aang's breath hitched at the burns covering Gyatso's arms and face; his Air Nomad robes were singed at the edges, but he was still alive.

"It should have been me, not Aang!" Afiko spat, climbing unsteadily to his feet. "You are a fool, all of you! I was worthy for the power; he wasn't!"

"You follow Sozin," his Master whispered with a mixture of anger and sadness, and Aang watched, frozen in place. "You betray everything that you have been taught- "

"I have been taught the way of fools! The Air Nomads are weak; we were once the greatest of the Four Nations, but no more because of the oh-so-wise High Council! I have taken steps to ensure our race returns more powerful than ever; the father of the new Air Nomads will be me, sired by me!"

"It won't be you, Afiko," Gyatso stated calmly and Aang wondered how his Master could be so at peace with his death approaching. "It will be Aang; he will redeem our race, not you."

Afiko's face spasmed with sudden hatred and Aang tensed when he felt another large group of Firebenders approach. He swiftly hid behind a large bush but when he saw who was leading him, he paled in horror; it was Fire Lord Sozin.

"Most esteemed Fire Lord," the Betrayer called out. "This is the Avatar's Master!"

Sozin stood before Gyatso, Afiko and the other Firebenders standing behind him "Where is the Avatar, Air Nomad?" The Fire Lord asked flatly, staring at Aang's Master with indifference. "Afiko would never lie to me; he has told me that the boy escaped mere days ago."

"No, he was just here, Fire Lord Sozin!" Afiko declared, "He was with his Master but… he was different; he… was older, stronger. I think that he was fully-realized." Aang didn't fail to notice the sudden fear that caused Sozin to tense. "But he escaped before we could kill him; his Master aided him and killed many of your warriors."

"Where is he?" Sozin demanded, emotions of anger and fear coloring his voice. "Where is the Avatar?!"

Gyatso tilted his head up, a calm and peaceful expression on his face. "You will never find him; you have failed, and your conquest will fail for the Avatar will return to stop you. He will finish what Roku was unable to."

Aang inhaled sharply when Sozin's fists slowly clenched; the façade evaporated, and the hidden malignity was revealed. "Then you will join Roku in death, Airbender."

"Deep down, you know that you will never succeed." Gyatso straightened and adjusted into a bending stance, "I see that this will be my final moments in this world, but everything was worth it. You have left me no choice, Fire Lord. I will blow out your candle."

Sozin unleashed a torrential fire blast but Gyatso spun back and swiped his arm directly up and forward and the sudden air cut through the center of the blast; his Master dashed forward through the sudden space and punched his fist forward. A gust of wind exploded forward and Sozin was heaved backward, falling to the ground.

"Fire Lord Sozin!" The men cried and turned to Gyatso with flaming fists. Afiko stood to their side, watching with eyes that burned.

"No," the Fire Lord murmured as he stood to his feet and somehow, it was heard. "I will kill this Airbender myself; he will suffer by my hands alone." The flames were even stronger when unleashed and Gyatso was overwhelmed, falling to his knees as Sozin walked forward. "Your death will be as painful as you are powerful." Sozin inhaled slowly and a blanket of unbearable heat was emanating from the Fire Lord.

Then he raised his hand and Gyatso gasped and doubled over, clawing at his chest, features contorting into a mask of agony. Aang had to force himself not to enter the fray; he could do nothing except watch as Fire Lord Sozin slowly killed his Master by raising Gyatso's internal body temperature. It continued, the air echoing with his Master's cries of pain but slowly, they diminished; things were silent. Gyatso somehow looked directly at Aang, raising his head and then he stopped fighting Sozin's power; he smiled peacefully and then collapsed to the ground, dead.

Aang's eyes welled with tears and he was frozen; he couldn't move. Afiko stepped forward and a gust of wind exploded from his fingertips, smashing into Gyatso's… corpse and sending it flying into the building; it was his final resting place, where he would never move again. He wouldn't be seen again until the younger Aang returned to the Southern Air Temple a century from now.

His lips opened in a soundless scream and he stepped out from the bush; his eyes shut tightly to keep him from screaming and turned around to walk away but his eyes snapped open as he suddenly jumped up, twisting his body above the roaring, massive flames that had lashed towards him. He landed silently and when he turned back around, Fire Lord Sozin was staring directly at him.

All was silent but something in the Fire Lord's posture tightened; his eyes widened, and lips parted. "It is you… I have finally found you." Afiko stared at him with fear and anger and the other Firebenders moved into fighting stances.

He knew that he should leave, but something kept him; he stepped forward. "You let me die, Sozin," it wasn't Aang's voice but Roku speaking through him. "You killed me, not the volcano."

Sozin faltered in shock, "Roku?" For a moment, the Fire Lord looked frozen but then his golden eyes – they were the same color as Ozai and Zuko's – filled with the madness of monstrous power once more. "With you dead once again, there will be nobody who can or will oppose me and my grand vision." The unholy lightning erupted from Sozin's fingers and flashed toward him but Aang smacked it aside.

His grief compounded into something deadly and he dashed forward. He evaded the sudden fireblasts and punched his fists forward and Sozin was smashed back into the wall of the building where Gyatso's… corpse lay; he imprisoned the Fire Lord in the earth up to his chin where only his face was visible – there was no escape, even under the power of the Comet.

"It's… it's him, the- the Avatar," one of the soldiers whispered fearfully, golden eyes bulging in realization.

"You damn fools," Sozin roared, trying to escape, breathing flames at the ground. "Get him! No, kill him! Somebody kill him! SLAY THE AVATAR!"

The warriors swarmed forward and punched their fists forward; the fire was intense and Aang unleashed his own flames that were augmented by Sozin's Comet to counter it, to keep himself from burning –  _just as his people!_

"Impossible!" Afiko screeched and a gust of wind was blasted toward him, but Aang jumped toward the side. "You were only a boy! You were gone! Who are you?"

He twirled around and gathering the compressed air into his hands, he sent it at Afiko, who crashed into the ground with a shriek. Aang avoided more fire and when he saw Sozin desperately trying to escape with the aid of one of his warriors, he smashed his foot into the ground; the earth shook and using their sudden surprise, he slashed his arm forward and then punched his other fist forward. The air exploded forward and out of his other hand, massive plumes of Comet-enhanced fire blazed forward; all of the Firebenders were swept off of the mountain in a sweeping gust of unavoidable wind and roaring flames.

Only Afiko and Fire Lord Sozin remained.

Aang turned his eyes to Afiko and all of the poisonous rage and grief that he felt overwhelmed him. "You have chosen to follow Sozin, the slayer of our people. For that, your death will not be a gentle one," the sorrow and fury of all of the Air Nomad Avatars stirred in his soul and Aang knew that he wouldn't feel regret for what he was about to do.

"You are a menace," Afiko spat, climbing to his feet. "I don't know how this is possible, but I will- " he was cut off when Aang pulled water out of the air and created a net, hauling the Betrayer back to the ground, keeping him in place.

"You watched as our kin were slaughtered, among them the children."

"I saved those children from what the Elders were going to teach them!" Afiko's eyes blazed, "They would become menaces just as you are! They deserved death for what they would have become; they failed to see the truth!"

"Then those children will be avenged," he murmured lowly; he noticed that the imprisoned Sozin was watching in naked fascination.

Afiko laughed, "You're not going to kill me! Revenge isn't the Air Nomad way!"

"I'm not just an Airbender," he crouched before the imprisoned Afiko; the Betrayer's eyes slowly filled with fear. "I'm the Avatar."

Calling upon the knowledge that Gyatso –  _he would mourn again later!_  – had gifted him, he spun his hand quickly and a screeching sound pierced through the air like an arrow, deadly and accurate. Aang forced the air to focus the sound directly at Afiko and he intensified it; the Betrayer screamed, and his eardrums burst. Blood oozed out of Afiko's ears and cracks began to appear in the ground beneath his knees.

For several more moments, he memorized the expression on Afiko's face and then he stopped the agonizing attack. The Betrayer gasped in relief, but Aang wasn't finished; the grief of all of his past lives spurred him on.

It was so easy; he clenched his closed his fingers and a sphere of air spun around Afiko's suddenly terrified, bloodied face. Aang didn't look away as the Betrayer's eyes bulged out of their sockets and the white of his eyes quickly filled with blood; the skin stretched painfully across his cheeks and hands reached up to desperately claw at the sphere, but his fingers couldn't pierce through the spinning vortex. He then tried to use airbending, but it was useless; Aang was much stronger than Afiko.

The Elders would condemn him for doing this, but Aang didn't care; the Elders had, indeed, fallen into foolishness. He knew that Gyatso might be disappointed and horrified but considering that Gyatso had killed all of those Firebenders earlier, exploding their lungs, Aang knew that his Master would understand.

His gray eyes were captivated by Afiko's suffocated features as he stopped the attack: the Betrayer's hands were brokenly arched towards his necks and his blood-filled eyes were wide with terror and death. Aang slowly stood to his feet and then turned to the imprisoned Sozin, who stared at the dead Afiko almost impressed. All was silent and he knew, instinctively, that he was the last living Airbender at the Southern Air Temple.

"You are older… older than I had thought that you would be," the Fire Lord tried to break out of the ground by superheating his fists and body, but it was useless; Aang kept his hold on the ground, refusing to budge. "You should be only around 12-years-old."

"You really don't know the power of an Avatar," he advanced forward. "You will fail, and I will eventually stop everything that you've built; your reckoning will come."

Rage spasmed across Sozin's features and the madness glowed in his eyes more viciously than before. "Tell me, you are Roku reborn, yes? Can you remember his memories? Do you have… his consciousness? Most importantly, can you experience his pain? I will kill Ta Min and dance atop her blackened bones!"

Aang frowned and could feel Roku's sudden anger and fear but he ignored it. "No, you won't. You are trapped and will do no such thing."

"Then why not kill me now, Avatar? I am at your mercy and can do nothing to defend myself. Avenge my murder of Roku," if Aang wasn't mistaken, it almost sounded like Sozin was begging him to do it.

"No," he shook his head. "As much as I want to, I can't."

Sozin's golden orbs burned and the familiar feel of darkness touched the air. "Then your folly will be your last! AZAR!"

Aang heard a deafening roar echo through the air, and then with his airbending, he felt a massive Dragon blaze toward him. A blue Dragon – the same one that he remembered from Roku's memories – loomed over him, teeth snarling, chest glowing with fire.

"Careful, Azar," he stepped closer to Sozin and knew what to do; it was something that would work on Appa. "Attack, and you may kill your bonded partner."

Azar huffed and fire clouded the air, but the Dragon didn't move forward at all.

"No, kill him!" Sozin screamed, "Azar, do it!"

"He won't," he stepped away and kept his eyes locked on the Dragon. "He knows of my power; he can smell it. He won't attempt to attack me, especially with you imprisoned." Aang watched as Azar lumbered closer to the imprisoned Sozin and began scratching at the ground, trying to help his bonded partner escape.

"You killed your best friend," he called out, eyes connecting once more with Sozin's. "You have begotten a war that history will curse you for. Your legacy will not be great, but that of a monster. You slaughtered my people and their spirits will never rest until you die. You want to be remembered and you will, but not the way that you want; live with that for the rest of your days."

Aang turned around and his footsteps quietly sounded against the stone of the mountain.

Sozin suddenly roared and the familiar sound of sparks echoed. Whirling around, Aang saw that both of the Fire Lord's arms were free thanks to Azar and then he caught the lightning that had been hurled at him; he grit his teeth and rose into the air, staring down into Sozin's insane gaze. He re-directed the lightning into the sky and then closed his eyes, teleporting back into the Spirit World.

He heard Sozin scream and then quiet.

The Spirit World was tranquil, and he closed his eyes and finally let the sorrow of what he had allowed to happen affect him. Aang fell to his knees and wept harshly without stop; the tears were endless and when he finally controlled himself, there was a void in his heart that hadn't been there before. While he may have chosen the correct path, it had taken something from him to do so.

His journey back to the Tree of Time was bleak and when he arrived, the overwhelming darkness of Vaatu was waiting for him.

"You allowed your people's slaughter." Vaatu stared down at him from his prison inside the Tree of Time. "I appreciated feeling it happen; your Master's death was particularly enjoyable. Sozin's conquest will be glorious and begin to restore my power."

Aang no longer had the emotion necessary to deal with the evil spirit. "I will destroy you, eventually; the Void of Eternity will be your fate." He hopped into the trunk of the Tree of Time and sat inside the primordial darkness but ignored it by closing his eyes; to return to his time, all that he had to do was enter the Avatar State.

Before he did, Vaatu spoke again. "We will meet again, Avatar. In another time, in another place, we will finish this."

He entered the Avatar State.

Gray eyes opened and he felt the smooth oak under his hands; whirls of lines arched beautifully through the wood and Aang sighed heavily.

The Tree of Time.

" _Welcome back, Avatar Aang,"_  it whispered.  _"I am pleased to see you that you accepted that what I allowed to happen was for the best; you have accepted the truth."_

"Did anything change?" He asked hesitantly, "Sozin saw me; he tried to kill me. He said that he was going to kill Ta Min. I killed a group of Firebenders and Afiko."

" _Nothing has changed as a result of your actions; it all happened as it was supposed to."_

"I don't understand that. Are you saying that me going back in time was… always going to happen?"

" _You're not supposed to understand it, Avatar Aang. I know of your immense grief and sorrow and I am proud of you. I do not believe that there is any other being in existence, mortal or immortal, who has the strength of character to do what you did; you are rare. None of your predecessors could have seen the truth."_

"That truth cost me part of myself," he whispered. "Nothing will ever be the same again."

" _Do you regret our bargain? Do you regret being transported back into the past?"_

Aang shook his head slowly, "No, I don't, but it was still more difficult than anything that I've ever done. I could have saved them all, but… I guess that I always knew that I shouldn't. I've had a good life, in spite of everything."

" _That is good; you are finally healing fully. You have accepted that your new life wasn't something that could be replaced; it was precious and much-needed. You have realized that I was correct in my decision to allow Vaatu's liberation to reap chaos across the worlds, Spiritual and Material."_

"Yes, I do understand somewhat," he stared at the scenes of his life playing across the inner parts of the bark, but it did nothing to alleviate the heaviness his soul and heart were burdened with. "Gyatso told me that I must let go of the life that I had planned so that I could accept the one that was waiting for me; he was right. I was clinging to the past, holding it to a perfection that never was because it's all that I had believed, regardless of anything else. Now that I've finally accepted the past by… I let it happen and now I know that there truly is a future for me." Aang felt more tears well in his eyes and he wondered how he still had tears left to cry. "While I do feel broken from this experience, I will fully heal from it as I never have before. Thank you for giving me this chance that I didn't know that I needed, Tree of Time. I finally have closure."

" _You're welcome, Aang. Good luck with your journey."_

Aang bowed and exited the Tree of Time. The unbearable burden still affected him but slowly, it began to dissipate. He had finally received closure from the trauma that had changed his life forever, a trauma that most couldn't ever imagine; he had finally let go of the past.

He closed his eyes and focused on returning to the cave.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was sitting in the exact same spot from where he had left. The sparks of the campfire were dwindling, and night had fallen; he didn't see anyone but felt every one in their tents.

Silently walking to Azula's, Aang entered and when he saw her slumbering form, he felt something re-align inside him; the burden fled him, and he could breathe. He had no idea how long he tenderly stared at her beautiful form, watching as her chest inhaled and exhaled, the sway of her hypnotic breasts beneath the Air Nomad garbs. Eventually, Aang stepped out and walked towards Appa, who was sleeping, too.

When he saw Samir asleep on his tail, he breathed even clearer.

XxXxXxXxXxX

A shift in the air awakened her; it was sudden but left just as quickly, fading away in the receding darkness of her mind. Azula opened her eyes to see that she was alone. The shift couldn't have been produced by her, so where or from whom did it come?

Stepping out of the tent, she received her answer.

Aang stood in front of Appa, face nestled into fur, hands curling into his white coat. What was truly surprising, however, was that he was wearing new Air Nomad garbs, the same as he had always worn. Looking down at herself quickly, Azula wondered where he had gotten them, for she was still wearing his old one. Had he traveled back to the Eastern Air Temple somehow?

Azula stepped closer to him, mindful that Samir was asleep on Appa's tail. "Was it successful?" Her words were soft, and concern spread through her when Aang tensed. "Did something happen?"

He finally pulled his face out of Appa's fur. "You could say that."

"What is it?" She demanded, golden eyes looking him over; his own gray eyes were clouded with pain – they were haunted. What surprised her almost as much was that his cheeks were covered in stubble, something that she had never seen before, not even at the Eastern Air Temple – Pathik must have shaved his face – while he had been unconscious; it made him look even more attractive, in her opinion. But that wasn't what she was concerned about. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"How long was I gone?"

"Several days," she pursed her lips at his avoidance of her questions but answered evenly. "Tomorrow would have been day four. Everyone has successfully mastered their chakras and they are all in awe of their heightened bending abilities. Zuzu, a couple of days ago, sent the Imperial Firebenders and Yu Yan Archers back to the Palace for he believed that they were no longer needed."

"That's good…"

"What happened?" Azula finally traced her fingers on his back, raising her brow at him. "Tell me what is wrong. Don't try to deny it; it's clear to see."

Aang swallowed and stared down at her and his expression caused her to feel anxious. Before she could do anything, he pulled her closer and darted his head down; he snared her lips in a heavy and passionate, desperate kiss. Azula was stunned for a moment before she finally reciprocated; her hands cupped his cheeks and she felt the stubble there. He gently sucked on her lower lip, tongue flowing everywhere in her mouth, hot and heavy, and she tasted his upper lip in return, feeling herself become deeply aroused by his amorous advances.

"I need you," he pulled back to whisper against their barely-touching lips. "Please… I just… I can't talk about it, not yet. I can only say it once and I'd rather do it with all of you. But right now… I… I need you… please."

Never before had she seen him look so vulnerable and Azula felt a fierce fury sweep through her at who or what had produced this burden to befall him; protectiveness quickly followed, and she nodded her head. "Come, I had forgotten how sexy you look in Air Nomad garbs."

Some of the darkness vanished from his stormy gray eyes and she wasn't ashamed to admit that the relief was great.

He ducked down again, and their kisses became heated; she had to fight back moans. Even as Aang seemed to lose sense of the time and place as he urgently attacked her neck, sucking and trailing his tongue, causing her to scrape her nails down his back, somewhere in Azula's hazy, aroused mind she remembered that they were out in the open; their daughter was sleeping on Appa's tail and could witness what they were engaged in. If Aang had any reservations about what Samir might see, he didn't seem to care when his strong fingers expertly parted through her own garbs and descended on her breasts, gliding up and down, pinching and kneading her flesh; it caused her to swallow another moan and she pulled back abruptly.

"Earth tent," she whispered breathlessly and Aang scooped her into his arms with effortless strength, arousing her even further, and shut them in her – or perhaps, their – earth tent.

Azula stared into Aang's gray eyes as he set her down and she glimpsed the depths of his emotions; pain encompassed them, but clarity was there, too. What exactly had happened? Right now, it didn't matter because she would take away his pain; she would ease the haunted glaze in his eyes. She watched as he expertly took off the Air Nomad garbs and it was with an ease that Azula herself hadn't come anywhere close to.

She pulled him to the bed, a large smooth rock that was covered in Appa's fur. Their lips were fused together and after several moments she regretfully pulled back but only to push him onto the bed. Aang was clearly not expecting it for he flopped back immediately, not looking anywhere near as graceful as he always did. When she looked down at him, his gray eyes were wide before his lips curled; she smirked in triumph.

He pulled her down on top of him and she slathered her hands over his chest as they kissed again. His pectorals bulged out like large shields and his body rippled with untamable power; he truly was a perfect specimen, a god as the Four Nation had often declared him. The years of bending and physical training had transformed the once-skinny boy into a large, leanly-muscled, handsome man.

Azula leaned forward and sucked his neck, nipping at it gently; she trailed her tongue up to his ear. "What do you want, Aang?" She whispered, catching his earlobe between her teeth gently. "Tell me what you want."

Aang inhaled sharply, "You, only you – always you."

She smirked in pleasure and kissed his jaw. "Good answer," she snatched his lips in a fierce kiss. He groaned and she felt it rumble pleasantly against her ample breasts. Azula then pulled away when she felt his erection straining against his trousers; her hands gently gripped the garments and pulled them down, revealing Aang's pulsing phallus. "Let me love you from my knees, Avatar," she purred and lowered herself to the ground; she was level with his bulging, erect manhood.

"Azula?" Aang stared at her wide-eyed.

"You will enjoy it," she smirked up at his shocked gray eyes. Azula's pink tongue then darted out to taste his erection; she was delighted when Aang gasped and closed his eyes as his breathing elevated. She then wrapped her full lips around the swollen head and gently sucked; she bobbed her head up and down as her tongue swirled around his shaft. She had never pleased a man orally; this was her first time, and for once in her life, Azula felt grateful to Ty Lee for the gossips of romance all of those years ago.

Looking up into his now-peaceful features, she watched Aang's head fall back; he groaned her name and his hand curled into her silky hair. She continued her ministrations after pulling back a moment to catch her breath; she stared up into his dark, stormy gray eyes that were now wide with arousal when there once was pain.

Good.

She sucked more intently, the swollen flesh of her full lips enveloping around his pulsing manhood; she had an idea and raised her hands from where they rested on his knees to fondle his testicles, applying more pressure with her fingers.

"Azula!" Aang gasped, "Stop! I'm about to…" he trailed off and his eyes were squeezed shut.

She pulled back and felt pleased by the sudden frustration on his face. "Let me undress, Avatar, and then we will continue," she slipped out of her own – or Aang's old – Air Nomad garbs, appearing before him nude and when his eyes locked onto the sway of her breasts as she stepped back towards him, she smirked. "I told you that you would like it," she gestured to his twitching manhood.

He stared at her with wide eyes. "Azula, that was…" he seemed deprived of utterance.

Her smirk curved into a smile and Azula wrapped her arms around his neck, straddling him. "You won't be speechless for long," she whispered. "We're not finished yet, Avatar," she sank down on his hardened member and her eyes closed at the sudden deep pleasure that coursed through her as their hips bucked together in tandem. Azula opened her eyes and saw that Aang was staring at her with awe - golden vs. gray!

It was at that moment, as they were in the throes of passion after she had pleased him orally – something that her younger self had sworn never to do – when she realized that she would do anything for Aang. Her father had once told her many a time when she was a young girl that she would marry a powerful man to further increase the Fire Royal Family's power, and now, as Aang continued to thrust into her, she reckoned that her father had never known how right he had been, at least about the former. She had become forever intertwined with the most powerful being in existence and Azula wished that her younger self, the 15-year-old, Avatar-hunting Azula could have glimpsed the path that the winds of fate had planned for her.

Maybe she would have changed sides as Zuko had done.

Her line of thought vanished for suddenly moaned as Aang wrapped his mouth around her hard nipple, tongue leaving a pleasurable trail, and she was lost in the feel of him.

Azula knew that Toph was going to be furious in the morning but she didn't care.

XxXxXxXxXxX

The moon shined brightly; she could feel it but not see it. A full moon was rare and upon retrospection, invigorating beyond anything in life. Power howled through her veins, but no release would come; the chi-blocking tea forced down her throat every day had made certain of that.

It had been so long…

The desire to hunt down Katara was ever-present in Hama's heart; she had to show that damn ignorant, naïve girl the error of her ways! Alas, it was impossible for she was far past her prime; her body was in extremely poor health. She was only fed scraps of food and a single sip of water once a day; her strength was nonexistent, but her hate sizzled underneath her thin, unhealthy flesh.

Pitifully glancing to the far-right corner and tilting her head up, Hama desperately yearned to gaze upon the brilliance of the moon, but it was futile; she was shrouded in complete darkness, alone and hated. The passage of time had stopped mattering years ago. When she had first been imprisoned, she had been able to keep track whenever the full moon appeared, but she had quickly lost count after a couple of years into her torment.

Her hate had continued to keep her alive; the Fire Nation scum had to be destroyed and furthermore, Katara must realize her terrible error with the skinning of her flesh!

Ever since she had been captured that damn night, she had been confined in a barren, cramped cell, forced in a forever-sitting position; she couldn't even stand. Rusty metal plates scraped against her bound knees and while there was a bed in the cell, she couldn't even reach it from where she was locked down. Hama had been forced to stay in that position, forced to suffer as the moon's light was taken from her! The clothes that she had been wearing for almost a decade straight hung loosely off of her parchment-thin body, and her white hair was matted on the floor in clumps, scarcely covering her head as large bald spots littered her skull, furthering the decay of her body.

Hama knew that she wouldn't be able to keep fighting forever and that eventually, her hate would dwindle and then all that would remain of her, the first Bloodbender was that of a lifeless husk of bones. Justice would not be wrought! The fucking Fire Nation continued to exist and Katara continued to be happy!

She couldn't change those unacceptable realities because she was locked up in this damned prison because of Katara!

"This is most interesting," a dark voice hissed inside her cell. "Most interesting, indeed."

Hama summoned all of her strength to glare into the darkness of her cage. "I'm not dead yet!"

"No, you're not," the dark voice chuckled. "It is rare to find a mortal with such… spunk. You should take pride, child. I have encountered very few who can claim what you so obviously possess."

"Release me, and I'll show- "

"Hey!" One of the guards screamed from outside of her cell, interrupting her. "Stop talking to yourself, you crazy bitch!"

"This should be even more interesting," the dark voice murmured.

Hama snarled, gnashing her rotten teeth together like a feral Polar Dog; she opened her mouth, but no words tumbled past her thin lips as the door to her cell abruptly drifted open. She stared, wide-eyed as light pierced through the darkness of her cage like a silent arrow. It was dim and narrow, but to Hama, it was Agni –  _that damned spirit!_  – itself.

A helmeted-head peeked into her cell and more light blossomed as fire spread across the guard's hands. "Hey, how did you do that? Tell me!" The guard stomped into her cell, "If you don't answer my question- "

The light was suddenly vanquished and stifling darkness clouded her senses; she could somehow taste it. It was tangible and she felt shadows caress her broken body. Hama was incapable of movement or speech; it was so cold, colder than the South Pole! What she knew that she would always remember from that moment wasn't the rush of excitement but the pure and utter chill that caused her breath to fog; her soul was freezing over, and shadows drowned her hate-beating heart.

Something suddenly rushed around her and the next thing that she felt was something so unfamiliar, that it took several seconds to recognize what it was that she was actually feeling.

Grass.

Hama could see colors for the first time in years as she gaped at the life surrounding her; her gaunt fingers gently, hesitantly stroked and curled through the long green strands. A drop of water splashed onto the grass and she realized, with shock, that the source was from her; she was crying.

A brilliant silver glow reflected off of the teardrop and when she slowly looked up, the full moon stared back at her. Her tears came faster, and she wept harshly as she felt the pull of the ocean through her blood, the power that she had compressed and focused for so many years, the pull of the full moon.

"They have denied you from your nature, your element; they were slowly killing you," the dark voice was almost gentle. "They speak of peace, yet lock you away, discarded as insignificant when you are anything but. I know how it feels to be unjustly, unfairly imprisoned."

"That's why you… freed me?" Hama inquired softly to whoever her liberator was, still staring transfixed up at the moon; she couldn't look away. "You understood?"

"Yes. I rotted for eons as the Realms forgot my name, their creator. I am free, now, to change that. I am amassing power and I think that you could be of use; you interest me."

"Why?"

"Humans beget the very things that they dread. Men of peace preach about violence and spread death. The Avatar is hailed as a god, yet when a god fights or becomes angry, the mortals are who die. The Four Nations yearn for a free and peaceful world but hate and wish that destruction would befall each other."

Hama finally, weakly turned around to gaze upon her savior. A large floating form of darkness with wisps of ancient, powerful energy cascading off of its corporeal form stared back down at her; it was a spirit. No eyes or face were visible, and the realization was profound. It was not an ordinary spirit; it was of a stronger breed.

"And what does that have to do with me?" She dared ask, "Why free me?"

"The world created the very first Bloodbender," the spirit murmured, and she felt the words coil into her heart. "We can help each other, child."

Refusing to cower, Hama stood as tall as she could in her frail and broken body to stare into the pure darkness before. "Thank you for freeing me."

The spirit hummed, shadows puffing off its form. "I could never let someone with such… potential rot away as I had."

"What do you want? How can we help each other?"

"I need you," the spirit floated closer and stared down at her. "I require someone with your… capabilities. I am in need of your assistance; my vessel has been grievously wounded at the hands of the Avatar. In exchange, you will have freedom of your body and soul."

"Anything," she breathed out, kneeling before the spirit. "Just help me destroy the Fire Nation and a Waterbender named 'Katara,' and I will help you."

"I am well acquainted with Katara," the spirit placed a tendril of darkness on her shoulder, and it slithered to touch her flesh. "She is an ally of the Avatar. I cannot reach her, but with your assistance, both of our goals will be realized. A new world will rise from the ashes of the former, a world where chaos will thrive, where there will be true freedom."

"And that includes the Fire Nation's destruction?"

"Yes."

Hama felt a smile split her gaunt face in half. "When do we start, then?"

"As soon as you are no longer malnourished; you look like a small gust of wind will break you."

"What do you suggest?" She spat, anger bubbling in her stomach. "I am old, now. The imprisonment has weakened me tremendously."

The spirit circled her, "It will be agonizing, but I can restore your body to the condition it was in years ago."

The words weren't comprehended, "What? You can… do that?"

"Indeed, although it will be excruciating."

"Will I… be young again?"

"Perhaps. Your body will be transformed to what it would be if you had taken care of your body with a proper chi flow before your imprisonment." The spirit slithered around her, sounding like death coming to claim her soul. "I will flood your chi with dark energy. It also helps that it is a full moon, so your chi will already be-"

"Then, why don't you flood your vessel's chi?" Hama interrupted, challenging the spirit, "Surely, you do not need me. "

The spirit laughed, sounding like nails scratching against tree bark. "On the contrary, I do require your assistance. I cannot flood my vessel's chi because it would kill him; he is too injured, which includes his arm. Otherwise, we would not be having this conversation and you would not be free..."

The spirit's words left a sour taste in Hama's mouth, "Who is your vessel? You said that the Avatar… injured him?"

"He is a Child of Fire but was disgraced because of his non-bending abilities. Piandao is a worthy vessel for one such as… me. To answer your second question, the Avatar inflicted injuries that would kill any other man; he is very resilient, more than adept to be… my vessel. He will become the new Avatar and master the elements as my vessel."

"And I would need to… heal him?"

"Yes."

Hama knew that her healing abilities were limited, but she also knew that with bloodbending, it wouldn't matter. "I agree to your terms."

A throaty gasp escaped her lips as the spirit blurred toward her and brutally sank tendrils of darkness into Hama's body. She wasn't expecting the cold to flood her blood, freezing her in place as shadows engulfed her soul, sweeping into her chi and changing things, fixing what was broken. Pain scorched through her mind and her jaw dropped, lips parting in a soundless scream; darkness seeped through her blood and something within her caused her to… transform.

Then, thankfully, it stopped.

Hama fell to her knees and greedily heaved in as much air as she could; she blinked as she saw her hands clench into the grass. They were smooth and full, untarnished by years of imprisonment and neglect. Her eyes roamed her legs that were now full and strong. She felt more powerful than ever before and her body sang in delight.

She stumbled to her feet with remarkable speed and stared at the spirit. "I need water!" She hissed; she had to see her reflection! The spirit said nothing and simply looked past her. Hama followed his gaze and to her shock, a large lake gleamed under the moon. How did she not feel the water? She reached out and desperately sought to connect with her birthright, but she felt nothing. "What did you do?" She screamed, whirling towards him. "I can't feel the water!"

"There is a simple solution," the spirit floated towards the lake and in spite of Hama's best efforts, she felt compelled to follow.

Standing next to her savior in front of the lake, she stared at her reflection in utter astonishment. Her hair that had once been white was now dark black; her bald spots were nowhere to be found as her hair fully covered her head. Her face was unwrinkled save for crinkles around her eyes and mouth; she looked beautiful and it brought tears to her eyes.

The tears spilled down her cheeks. "I look as I did when I was in my mid-thirties," she breathed out in awe and turned to the spirit. "How… is this possible? How did you…?"

"The combination of me flooding your chi with dark energy with your water-touched energy that was already there, with it, too, being a full moon, has restored your body to peak condition; if you had taken proper care of your body with a healthy chi flow before your imprisonment, this is how you would look. I merely… fixed you."

"But that's impossible," Hama whispered in shock. "I am almost ninety-years-old!"

"Benders, no matter their element, live longer than non-benders," the spirit hummed, and she was mesmerized by his words. "The strength of a bender's chi allows them to live a little more than double what a non-bender could. Fire Lord Sozin is an example of that."

Hama's eyes widened in fury. "Don't speak of that death-worshipping monster!"

"Don't pretend that you can tell me what to do, child," the spirit chided, and Hama swallowed. "Sozin was powerful for a mortal, incredibly so and he lived over a century and a half. The Avatar, because of their immeasurable strength of chi, has lived for over half a millennium in many of their prior lifetimes."

"What about my connection to the water?" She demanded cautiously, suddenly feeling wary of her savior. "I can't even feel the water in the lake that's right in front of me. I need the power back!"

"Stick your hand in the lake," the spirit sounded bored. "There, you will find your power."

Hama's eyes widened and before she understood what was happening, she stuck her hand in the cool water. It was instantaneous; she felt part of her soul reform, become reborn. Water slowly rose off of the surface of the lake when she clenched her fingers, soothing Hama as her power, indeed, returned stronger than ever.

"Who are you?" Hama whispered because everything that the spirit had referenced shouldn't be known by anyone except by someone ancient. "What are you?"

The spirit turned to her and shadows wisped around Hama's legs. "I am Vaatu, the mighty Spirit of Chaos and Darkness, the first of my kind to cross into the Mortal Realm eons ago. I was betrayed and unjustly, unfairly imprisoned by the Avatar for many millennia _._  I have escaped and am on a crusade of vengeance; the Avatar will suffer along with those who claim allegiance to him, such as Katara."

The darkness compressed in her mind and she kneeled before Vaatu. "I am a Child of Water; my word is my bond." Hama recited the ancient oath that she had learned as a child in her training to master waterbending; it was to show loyalty to spirits. "My body, heart, soul, mind, and destiny are surrendered to your will, Vaatu."

The dark spirit purred and then Hama felt pure, absolute darkness wrap around her, taking her to a place unknown, but she ready. She willingly placed her trust in Vaatu; he had healed her, restored her to be beautiful again, and made her stronger than she had thought possible.

"Here," Vaatu whispered and the darkness vanished.

Hama saw that she was in a crumbled, squalid building; cracks ran along the walls and dust covered the floor like ice itself. In the center was a man lying on a broken cot; his skin was pale and burn scars covered the man's chest. Her eyes widened when she saw the man's decapitated arm and the wounds that inflicted him.

"This is… Piandao?" She glanced at Vaatu, "I understand why you – or rather he – needed aid."

"Heal him," the dark spirit's voice echoed everywhere. "I freed you from your torment, and I can just as easily imprison you again in that cage."

"That won't be necessary," she hastily assured. "I will heal him with bloodbending and do anything that I must to see Katara and the Fire Nation suffer."

"Good," her savior floated towards the unconscious man, looming over him like death. "Piandao! Wake up!"

The man's eyes snapped open and Hama was immediately struck by the unearthly golden color; she had encountered many Children of Fire, but never before had she seen such eyes with that color, burning with great power. She inhaled slowly to keep the rage that flooded her body and heart to keep her judgment from being affected; he wasn't like all of the others who she had encountered, who had tortured her. Piandao had been discarded because he had been born a non-bender by his kin; she felt almost sympathetic towards him.

"What is it?" Piandao snapped; his golden eyes landed on Hama and they glowed ominously. "Who is she?"

"She is your healer," Vaatu turned towards her. "Use your bloodbending to heal him and fasten his arm back to his body."

"My knowledge of the healing arts is limited," she admitted, hesitant to meet Vaatu's form like a beaten child. "I will do all that I can, but it will take a considerable amount of time to heal him and that's with my bloodbending; the full moon is almost over and will not reappear for another month. I can't do anything without it."

Vaatu hovered closer as the air in the room became frigid and Hama looked into the darkness. "I see that I have been misled about your abilities."

Her eyes widened, "No! I can and will heal him. I can do it, but it will take time!" Hama rushed out quickly, eyes darting to Piandao for aid, but the man looked amused by the spectacle; his lips were quirked in something close to a sneer.

"Time," her savior murmured. "It is such a hindrance for mortals," his agitation was tangible; the shadows wisped off of his form. "I have waited for eons and I myself am tired of waiting, of things taking time. There is no other who possesses the natural talent and skill for bloodbending that you do; you are irreplaceable currently. I need you to be even stronger… Piandao has mastered his dark chakras with my help and you must do the same; only then, will you possess the power necessary to have no limitations by the moon."

"I am not a teacher!" Piandao snarled and then he coughed strenuously, bringing his hand up to his chest; his golden eyes trapped Hama with their intensity. "Find someone else, or better yet, teach her yourself!"

The shadows exploded off of Vaatu and Hama gasped at the overwhelming darkness bearing down at her; she was being crushed. "This will be your atonement for your mistake! If you had not clashed with the Avatar, allowing your emotions to cloud your judgment, your injuries would not have become an obstacle! You will teach her!"

Piandao didn't look pleased. "And how will I do that, Vaatu? Would I… meditate?"

"No, you will learn energybending – thus gaining another ability that will put you on par with the Avatar – and gift the knowledge of the master of the dark chakras to Hama."

"Very well," the man growled deeply but didn't protest any further. Hama felt grateful, for Piandao possessed a power that she was wary of.

"Once you master your dark chakras, Hama, you will be able to use bloodbending whenever you desire; the full moon will no longer be a necessity."

Her lips parted in shock. "Of course, mighty Vaatu," she inclined her head, knowing that it would soothe the spirit's agitated state.

She was correct, for Vaatu hummed. "The full moon isn't diminished yet. Begin healing Piandao, Hama. I trust that you know what to do."

"Keeping the… decapitated arm healthy is vital," she said after a moment. "Also, I will need to carefully monitor the shoulder from whence the arm was attached."

"Then get started," her savior commanded.

Hama nodded and approached Piandao; his golden eyes glared at her and she knew that this was not going to be easy, but she would do it to see the Fire Nation destroyed, to see Katara suffer!

XxXxXxXxXxX

The weight on his chest registered within and Aang awakened fully; his eyes blearily opened, and it was to the sight of Azula's head lying on his chest, her bare breasts pressed enticingly against his side. He inhaled slowly and laid there for several moments, basking in the peace that he knew would escape him sooner or later. He knew what he would have to do: tell everyone what had happened, what he had almost done.

Gingerly sliding out from under Azula's head, he dressed himself and memorized the beautiful sight that she incurred. Aang silently slipped out of the earth tent and he noticed immediately that he was the first of everyone awake; he had thought that it would be the opposite with how little sleep he had received. He saw the dying campfire and quickly shot a blast of bright flames into the fire pit; it roared in pleasure and blazed with fuel.

Aang sat down and stared into the flames; the image of Sozin's Comet and his people's genocide flashed into his mind and he closed his eyes. While he knew that he had made the correct decision, it had still been the hardest thing that he had ever done; it was hard to live with it right now, with it so fresh in his mind, in all honesty. Because of his decision, the Air Nomads were slaughtered, but also, the new Air Nomads beginning with Samir would rise from the mighty scar that Vaatu, Sozin, and the Fire Nation had wrought.

There were subtle differences because the usual flash of rage and overwhelming sorrow that accompanied the thought of his people was nowhere near as potent as it had been before. Now, Aang had truly made peace and accepted the events that had transpired over a century ago. The Air Nomads were gone but now, through his children, he would build his race back up; he would redeem the fallen Air Nomads that he had been borne into.

The airbending race had to start fresh; the old had grown rank and was in need of clearing so that new growth could occur. They had become stagnant, arrogant, callous, and almost cruel in their beliefs, unwilling to change or remember what it truly meant to be a Child of Air; they had killed young, non-bending children to have pure bloodlines before Avatar Kuruk stopped it. They had lost their way, forgotten who they were, and became misshapen by the forces of the world, by the High Council.

Ultimately, Aang had had to allow the genocide under Sozin's Comet so that in the absence of the former, there would be growth for the new Air Nomads. He understood now, and never again, once he healed from what he had seen and done, would he be haunted by his past so horribly.

Toph suddenly stumbled out of her earth tent, shuffling towards the campfire; her hair was in disarray and she collapsed next to Aang in an exhausted heap of limbs. "I hate you," she muttered sullenly, breathing heavily. "You and Lightning Psycho… are so fucking rude."

"Good morning to you, as well, Toph," he raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Did I do something to anger you?"

She glared up at him heatedly. "Yes," she hissed. "I was hardly able to sleep because you and Lightning Psycho kept me awake almost all night with your fucking!"

Aang flushed and brought a hand to rub the back of his neck. "Sorry about that," he winced. "If it helps you feel better, I was kept awake by it, too."

Toph looked at him gob-smacked, "But you were enjoying the reason why you were kept awake, Twinkletoes! Meanwhile, I had to feel everything that you were- "

"How was mastering your chakras?" He asked quickly, desperate to change the subject away from him and Azula having sex. "I hope that it wasn't too difficult."

"Very smooth transition, Twinkletoes," she chortled but her features did brighten. "It was definitely more than worth it; my earthbending is stronger than ever! My feet can see and feel so much more than I had ever thought possible… I learned that while you and Lightning Psycho were- "

"I get it," he interrupted in embarrassment. "I'm glad that your earthbending is stronger."

"Yeah, I bet that I could finally even kick Bumi's ass, now!"

"Bumi?" Aang leaned back in surprise, "You mean… the King of Omashu? That Bumi? My friend, Bumi?"

"Yes," she huffed and blew the hair out of her face. "I stayed at Omashu for a couple of years before Sparky sent the letter for me to go to the Caldera, where we learned of the Loser Lord's escape. Don't you remember?"

"I never knew that," he frowned. "I thought that you went back to live with… your parents?"

"I did, but it didn't work out; they were fucking fools."

"So, you lived with Bumi in Omashu?"

"Yes. He never shut up about you." Toph exaggeratedly tried to roll her eyes, "Aang this, Aang that! I thought that he was in love with you!"

"We wrote each other," he recalled. "He always spoke about his grandchildren, Bor and Anju; he was really proud of them. He never spoke about you, though. Why?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "He must not have approved of me."

"Approved of you for what?"

A sudden panicked expression crossed her face before it vanished. "Me being the first Metalbender; that's probably why he didn't mention me when he wrote to you."

He ignored her lie, recognizing that she didn't want to talk about it. "Bumi and Zuko were the only ones with whom I truly kept in contact after the Great War; they would both write to me."

Toph's features pinched with guilt. "Sorry."

"My fury has cooled enough to recognize that I'm partly at fault," he admitted, ignoring her hopeful and shocked expression. "I could have always written first to you, Katara, or Sokka. But I never did; I guess that I… wanted you guys to do it, to show me that you cared."

"We did care, we still do," Toph punched his arm. "We all made mistakes, mostly us, but we're working towards… forgiveness, right?"

Aang stared at her for a moment before a small smile graced his face. "Yeah… we are."

"I'm glad, Twinkletoes," she looked down.

"How did the others do with mastering their chakras?" He asked after a moment, "Was it easy for them?"

Toph looked back up and groaned. "No, but they'd say that it was worth it. Eventually, when we were almost finished, I thought that Sparky and Sugar Queen were going to fuck; they kept staring at each other with their hearts racing. The vibrations were annoying!"

"I don't know why you seem so surprised, Toph." Aang said in bewilderment, "They've always shared a bond with one another, even when they were enemies. I noticed it when I was younger."

"I'm not surprised, just annoyed," she crossed her arms over her chest and peered at him. "I always figured that Sugar Queen would go for Sparky; my feet always know. But now, the two of them keep dancing around each other like children. Actually, I guess it's like brother like sister; it's similar to how you and Lightning Psycho had acted." Toph paused and tilted her head, "Well, it's not the same but close. At least you and she knew about your feelings but were just content to wait and wait and wait."

Aang sighed, "Yeah, I was too much of an Airbender, but I did tell her I loved her after she was almost killed by Ozai; it took something drastic for me to confess."

"Yeah, I know," she grumbled. "I could feel you two celebrating your love in the cave. At least you and Lightning Psycho finally fucked. Sparky and Sugar Queen haven't and it's pissing me off! They are soaked in ignorant juice and refuse to act on their emotions, to even confess them!"

"I don't think that you will be annoyed with them much longer," he declared vaguely.

Toph straightened and pointed her finger at him accusingly. "Wait a minute… Do you know something that I don't, Twinkletoes? Do have some sort of mystical, divine Avatar power that allows you to see the future?"

Aang felt a small laugh escape him. "I can glimpse the future in visions that I receive when I meditate deep enough, but I also must seek them out."

"That didn't answer my question! Do you know something about Sparky and Sugar Queen?"

"Let's just call it a hunch, Toph."

"That's not good enough!" Toph exploded, throwing her hands into the air. "Tell me what will happen!"

Thankfully, Aang was saved by Samir; his daughter suddenly bounded off of Appa's tail and leaped at him. "Good morning, daddy!" He caught her and she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. "I missed you. You were gone forever."

"I missed you, too," he whispered into her hair. "I'm sorry that I was away so long."

"It's okay," she said into his chest. "I'm happy you're here."

"Speaking of that, why were you gone so long, Twinkletoes?" Toph asked, raising her own eyebrows. "I thought that trips to the Spirit World only took less than a day."

"I'll explain it all to you later with the others," he said when he felt everyone else begin to stir and exit their earth tents.

Azula plopped down elegantly next to him wearing her Air Nomad garbs. "Good morning."

"Good morning, mommy," Samir chirped from his lap.

"You are the worst, Lightning Psycho. Did you know that?" Toph glared at her. "It would have been nice to have good sleep, but thanks to what you started, I didn't!"

"Ahh, that would not have been nice for me." Azula raised a brow in challenge, "I was completely satisfied with how things turned out."

Toph huffed and grumbled angrily before her toes curled towards the emerging Sokka and Suki. "You two weren't the only ones who were satisfied last night."

Sokka blearily rubbed his eyes before he blinked and straightened. "Aang! You're back! You- …you're wearing Air Nomad clothes…"

"Good morning to you, too, Sokka," he inclined his head.

Suki tugged her husband down to sit across from them. "How was your trip, Aang? Was it profitable?"

"I'd rather not talk about it yet until everyone's awake and ready," he smiled apologetically, wondering why Sokka was staring at him with wide eyes. "Are you okay, Sokka?"

He flinched, "Yeah… I'm, um… yeah, I'm good. What about you?"

"Enough, Snoozles," Toph groaned and pointed at him. "I don't want this to get awkward yet. How was your 'good' night? I felt that it was satisfying."

Sokka wrapped a possessive arm around Suki, who yawned. "Of course, Toph. I was able to have my midnight snack after Suki and I had… you-know-what: a Komodo Chicken that I smuggled out of Zuko's palace."

"I'm surprised that it was still fresh," Azula commented. "You still ate it?"

"Of course," Sokka looked insulted. "I would never let such good meat go to waste, nonetheless one that I had spent so much energy smuggling out of your brother's palace."

Zuko suddenly appeared and sat down across from Toph. "The only reason why you were able to 'smuggle' those meals out of the Palace was that I let you, Sokka. I knew what you were doing the entire time," he glanced at Aang and blinked at his change of attire. "What happened to my cloak? Where did you find those?"

"The cloak's probably nothing but ash and I'll tell you about it later when everyone else is awake."

"Do you happen to have any more of these meals?" Azula inquired, eyes alight with a ravenous glow. "I would be willing to pay you for them, even."

"Done!" Sokka cried out, "Consider what is mine yours."

"Including your wife?"

Sokka faltered, "Why… why would you say that and take my words out of context?"

Azula shrugged and Aang almost smiled. "Because your reactions are amusing."

"Well, then I don't know if you can have any of my Komodo Chicken if you're going to act like that."

"She doesn't need yours," Zuko countered. "I brought some of my own and she can have some if she desires – without paying for them."

"I think that we already know the answer to that question, my son." Ursa's soft laughter entered Aang's ears and the Dowager Fire Lady sat next to her son. "Azula has always been a Komodo Chicken connoisseur; she rivaled the Palace's chefs."

Samir shifted against his chest. "What's a… con- connois- connoisseur, grandma?"

"I am an expert in judging Komodo Chicken, Samir," Azula answered patiently, golden eyes meeting Aang's amused ones. "I'm a connoisseur about many things."

"You are," he smiled in remembrance. "You have special skills."

Before she could respond, Katara exited her earth tent and looked stunned to see him. "Aang! You're back… and with Air Nomad garbs!" She hesitated before slowly sitting down next to Ursa. "I… I didn't hear you return."

"I did," Toph huffed out glumly, arms crossing over her chest. "It was a loud and vibration-filled return, I'll tell you." She turned to look at Mai and Ty Lee as they appeared to sit down next to her. "If I fall asleep on either of you, I apologize right now."

"Um… thanks," Ty Lee said hesitantly.

"How kind of you," Mai's voice was as dry as ever. "I'll keep that in mind."

Katara's blue eyes met Aang's from across the campfire. "So how was your trip, Aang? I think that it was the longest that you've ever been in the Spirit World. What happened?"

Aang must have looked hesitant because Sokka spoke. "If you don't want to answer, that's fine. We'll just get… Azula to."

Toph snorted, "They were too busy 'reuniting' during the night to discuss his trip, Snoozles, if you know what I mean."

"I don't know what you mean, Toph." Samir frowned innocently and looked at her. "What do you mean?"

He squeezed her, "She just meant that… mommy and daddy were too happy to see each other again to talk about my trip."

Samir brightened, "Oh, I'm happy to see you again, too, daddy."

"I'm glad," he inhaled slowly as she snuggled back into his chest; everyone's eyes were expectant, eager to learn of what had happened.

Azula raised a brow, "Do you not want to talk about it?"

"No, no," he shook his head. "I'll… I can do it."

"What happened, then, Twinkletoes?" Toph stared at him with milky eyes, "I'm feeling pretty anxious over here."

"It was… enlightening," he sighed. "The presence that I had felt was… the Tree of Time."

"Tree of Time?" Sokka echoed, leaning forward somewhat but was hindered because of his wife. "What's that? I've never heard of it."

"I haven't either," Zuko frowned. "Is it… a spirit?"

"Yes. The Tree of Time is the eldest of all of the spirits, the creator of the Spirit World; it is Time itself."

"Wait a minute, I thought that you said at one point that Raava and Vaa-  _Dark_ are who created- "

Aang interrupted Katara, "They are who created the Mortal Realm, not the Spirit World. The Tree of Time shaped the Spirit World out of cosmic energy and then created Raava and  _Dark_ out of the primordial forces of light and darkness." When he observed their faces, he was glad to see that he had their attention; he would only explain this once for now. "Its very roots bind the two Realms together, and it had summoned me to its location, the center of the Spirit World. Upon arriving at its domain, much was revealed to me."

Toph chortled, "It took you over half a week to learn that?"

"I'm not finished."

"Oh, sorry."

Aang was quiet for a moment and stared into the flames; he felt Azula's fingers grip his shoulder in support and he gripped her hand for strength, squeezing gratefully for the anchor to reality. "The Tree of Time revealed that it was responsible for  _Dark's_  liberation; it was intentional."

"What… are you fuc- "

"Let him finish," Azula snapped, interrupting Sokka. "His story will answer our questions."

"Thank you," he whispered, refusing to look at any of them. "The Tree of Time allowed it all, the Great War, Roku's death, the Air Nomads' Genocide, Sozin's conquest, Agni's corruption, among everything else. It summoned me to help me fully heal, it said, to heal from the past. He allowed it all to restore true balance. Because of  _Dark's_  imprisonment, things had been precariously out of balance… and the Realms were suffering because of it. Before the Great War, only Light thrived."

"That's a good thing, then!" Sokka exploded, "This spirit is a moron!"

"It's the first spirit to enter existence; it sees the past, present, and the future all at once." Aang said flatly, "It's reasoning was… sound."

"How can you say that?" Katara sounded aghast, "He allowed all of the Great War and- "

"Let me finish, please," he begged. "You have no idea how hard the entire trip was."

"Daddy, I don't understand," his daughter pouted against his chest. "What are you talking about?"

Aang chuckled weakly, "This is adult talk, Samir. Why don't you go play with Appa and Momo over there?"

"Okay," she thankfully hopped from his lap and ran over to his best friend and Winged-Lemur.

"So… you were saying, Aang?" Zuko said softly, "We'll try not to interrupt."

"When it revealed what it had done, I was as astonished and bitter as you all. I protested and argued with it for, I don't know how long. Then he offered me the chance to understand, to see things as it did. The Tree of Time offered to transport me to the past to the day when I left the Southern Air Temple several days before Sozin's Comet appeared to herald the Great War."

Heavy, disbelieving silence until it was pierced softly by Azula.

"You… were given the chance to… to go back?" Azula stared at him almost uncomprehendingly. "And… you did?"

All of the others seemed too lost for words to speak and Aang was grateful. "Yes, you're right," he finally looked away from the flames to stare into the golden eyes of the person who mattered more to him than anyone else. "I accepted the Tree of Time's gift. I was… given the chance to… to change… everything."

Toph inhaled sharply, "You mean…?"

"Yes. I could have stopped the Great War before it ever began, stopped… my people's… slaughter."

"Wait, did you?" Sokka demanded, "I don't feel different? I still remember…"

"Let me explain," he swallowed and spaced his words. "It said things about my people that weren't good and that's why it allowed the slaughter, along with me being reborn into the Air Nomads. It said that he was giving me a precious gift, to choose. He said that I could abide by the history that it had allowed, that one that already happened, or that I could change it, which would foster the Realms to collapse into nothingness… It said that it was giving me the greatest power in creation: the ability to change something that it had decreed reality. It said that I could choose to do whichever I wanted; it wouldn't interfere with my… decision. It said that… things weren't how I had always thought."

"What do you mean, Aang?" Katara asked softly.

"It said that I was still blinded by a child's thoughts and experiences." Aang closed his eyes briefly and then opened them slowly. "It took me back and then I lived again in the world that I had grown up in as a young boy. So many things were similar, but even more, things were different, things that… I had never noticed." Azula's hand squeezed his shoulder and he drew strength from her. "I observed life and realized much; indeed, the Tree of Time had been correct. I had… I had always put the past on a pedestal, untouchable compared to everything else in history. You see… I had… thought that… that nothing could ever be… better than the era that… that I was born in."

"But… you were wrong?" Ursa inquired hesitantly.

"I was wrong," he nodded slowly. "Upon my arrival and after the things that I saw, I realized that… that things weren't as I had always thought that they were. It was all different; the people were different. So many things… had gone horribly wrong back then, but I had never known. The Great War… it didn't just mystically appear; there were many signs and reasons for it beyond just Sozin's… indifferent obsession. Then after over a day's travel, I arrived at the Southern Water Tribe."

Katara, Sokka, and Suki perked up while Zuko narrowed his eyes. "Why would you go to the Southern Water Tribe? If anything, I thought that you would… go to the Fire Nation and confront Sozin."

Aang swallowed, "My plan was to rescue my younger self from the storm. That's why I went to the Southern Water Tribe, but when I arrived, I was early… and what I saw wasn't… what I had thought."

"That's becoming a theme," Toph murmured almost gently.

"There was no sense of… of familial belonging; that's what the Water Tribes are known for, now, but… that wasn't held in esteem back then." Aang breathed deeply to calm himself, "No one, not the Earthbenders or Waterbenders who I saw, held great spiritual energy; they were… dull and weak. The Water Tribesmen hardly spoke with each other; it was a gloomy atmosphere."

"That can't be…" Katara whispered in shock.

"I didn't believe it, either," he smiled without any mirth. "I descended from the heavens and demanded to speak with their Chief, Chief… Kuhna."

"I've heard of him." Sokka commented quietly, "Both Katara and I are descended from him."

"You'll hear a lot more of him. He didn't like me from the start; he didn't like Airbenders. He… said things that… I had thought them to be impossible. He said… that the Air Nomads didn't birth all Airbenders because of their spirituality."

He felt more than saw Azula's eyes widen. "You mean…?"

"Yes. He said that Avatar Kuruk was disgusted by my people; he said that the Air Nomads… pitched… their non-benders off of the Air Temple ledges to keep the bloodlines… pure."

"But they're the Air Nomads!" Katara gasped out, "They would never- "

"They did, Katara," he responded flatly, blankly; he couldn't show emotion, or he would break down. "I found out the truth. The Tree of Time said that all of the Four Nations had fallen from grace, but the Air Nomads, while they were the last to fall, fell the hardest and quickest; they were the worst. He said that my progeny would redeem the Air Nomads of the past." Aang licked his lips and felt reassured by Azula's steady hand remaining on his shoulder. "After my confrontation with Chief Kuhna, I flew to where my younger self would appear before the… storm swallowed him."

"Did he see you?" Zuko questioned kindly, "Was he… aware of your presence?"

"No, but I saw him, my younger self," he swallowed, and his breath quivered before he controlled himself. "He was so… innocent; none of the horrors of the Great War haunted his soul, his heart. I had told myself that I would stop the storm, that I would save my younger self from the Iceberg, and I had foolishly believed it… I wasn't able to do it. I could have… changed everything, but I didn't. I loved the life that I had built for myself, now in the future, too much." Aang ignored several of their sudden gasps and continued. "But to keep this life… I had… to… create my greatest nightmare so that the boy would be safe, so that I would be safe from Sozin and  _Dark._  I created the… storm and watched as… my younger self drowned before the Avatar State activated… to create the Iceberg."

"I'm so sorry," Suki whispered. "I… I can't imagine."

"None of us can…" Azula squeezed his shoulder and he gripped her hand fiercely for strength. "You are remarkable, Aang."

"Then I traveled to the Southern Air Temple," he continued in a daze, eyes staring into the hypnotizing fire, transfixed by the gentle roaring flames. "I went… home and… and saw the Temple full of life; there were living, breathing Airbenders. I was… no longer alone; it was better than I had remembered."

"If you don't mind, why did you go to the Southern Air Temple?" Sokka asked carefully, "Didn't you… already decide by… you know… doing the Iceberg?"

"I had only decided to allow my younger self to have this life, Sokka. I had thought that I could still save my people and change things but still have this life. I also wanted… to know the truth about the Air Nomads."

"What did you do?" Toph's voice was quiet, kind; it was almost off-putting. "You were at the Temple."

"It was on the day of Sozin's Comet, actually," he whispered. "I learned things about the Elders that I had never really known before. I spoke… I was able to talk to Gyatso again; he was… happy to see me." Aang's breath hitched and he felt the tears well in his eyes, but he narrowly stopped them from spilling down his cheeks. "He said that everything that I had learned about the Air Nomads was true; he said that I was… stuck in the past, clinging to it. He… wanted me to live my life, the one that I had in the future; he encouraged me and had undying patience. He helped me see that the Tree of Time was right; everything happened for a reason. He gave me new Air Nomad clothes and then the Comet arrived… Afiko betrayed us… Sozin was there… and he is… he killed Gyatso." Aang swallowed thickly and this time, he was unable to stop the tears. "I witnessed my people's slaughter; I stood by and did… nothing. I allowed it all to… happen. I spoke to Sozin and he knew who I was; he attacked me. I killed Afiko and a lot of his soldiers but not Sozin, even though I desperately wanted to. I… spared the murderer of my people, the harbinger of the Great War."

"I don't know what to say…" Zuko murmured, looking astonished, his good eye wide. "I can't imagine…"

"Who was Afiko?" Azula questioned, "He wasn't Fire Nation, was he? That's not a Fire Nation name."

"No," he shook his head. "He was an Air Nomad; he was always envious of me after my reveal as the Avatar. He is the Betrayer, the one who conspired with Sozin; he led Sozin's armies to the Temple, revealing their locations and how to find them. And… I killed him for it."

"He deserved nothing less," Ursa stated adamantly. "History will not look fondly on that name."

"I left the past the way it was because humans had journeyed away from the true nature of the bending arts, not just the Water Tribes – and my people were the worst. I allowed the Great War and my people's slaughter to happen to rectify those mistakes so that we could grow past them; the forest had grown rank and needed clearing for new growth… I set it ablaze… The Great War was a gruesome raping that marred this world but there were good things that had arisen from that unspeakable evil; it all happened for a reason and… I realized that, so I abided by what the Tree of Time had ordained."

Silence.

Aang wiped away his tears and while he felt heavy, he, too, felt almost peaceful; it was all out in the open. The truth was known, and he didn't regret it, any of it.

Katara was the first to speak. "You could have changed everything; you could have… stopped all of it from happening."

He finally looked up and gazed at her, understanding her emotions, knowing where they stemmed from. "Yes, I could have."

"But you chose not to!" She shook her head and tried to control herself; she was not successful. "The Great War could have been stopped; you could have stopped it! You could have killed Sozin! You could have stopped the Fire Nation's conquest and saved my mother!"

Sokka inhaled sharply and grabbed his sister's arm. "I think that's- "

"No!" Katara snapped, furious, shaking her brother's hand off. "Mom's death could have been prevented if Aang had- "

"If I had what, Katara?" Aang asked evenly, understanding. "Simply waved my hand and obliterated the Fire Lord's army? If I had traveled to the Caldera and slew Sozin's bloodline? If I had killed Sozin himself? I made a choice! It was my choice alone and you can't understand that, but it was mine! It will always be mine!"

"But you should have felt compelled to- "

"Do not presume to tell me how to feel!" Aang roared and his sudden burst of volume made all of them, including Azula, flinch. "It was I who experienced and felt it all; you know nothing of it! Don't attempt to compare your pain to my own; it's a battle that you will lose! It was cruel, what I had to choose, but I know that – I will always know that. Do you think that it didn't break me? I had to force myself not to do a single thing as Sozin and his warriors annihilated my people! No matter their falling from grace, they didn't deserve such a bloody death! It was harder than you could fathom, to watch and do nothing, to know that you could change everything, but if you did, it would doom the Realms, both of them."

"It's okay," Azula's soothing words reached him and Aang realized that he was heaving in air; the flames of the fire were blazing high and strong, the heat all-encompassing. "It's all right. We understand."

"You saw the truth when we would never be able to," Sokka said softly and Aang slowly calmed himself; the flames lessened and became controlled. "You had the strength of will… not to change the past."

Katara's face was pale, "Couldn't you have just…"

"No," he shook his head resolutely. "If I had stopped the Great War from happening, there's a large chance that most of you wouldn't exist. People would live when they would have died, and they could marry people to whom they were never meant; they could have children that were never meant to exist. Everything would have changed and that's not a good thing like you think that it is."

"I just think, Aang, that people who don't know of the past before the Great War believe it to be perfect," Zuko stated carefully. "You yourself said that you had it on a pedestal, and you lived it. If you fell prey to that, then everyone else does, too, at one point or another. It's an irrational belief but we all like to think that things were perfect at one point before the Great War so that we can return the world to that state – since we know that it's possible."

"Well said, Zuzu," Azula commented with a nod of her head. "In reality, none of us – save, of course, for you, Aang – understand the path that led to the Great War. We can read and study it, but it's different living it, seeing it happen with your own eyes. Aang has that knowledge and was able to make an informed decision; it was his choice, not anyone else's."

Katara swallowed, "I have always wished for things to be different in regard to the Great War and my mother's death… That's why I… reacted that way."

"It's understandable," he tried to smile but he knew that he wasn't successful. "We all have a conceived notion of what things should be instead of how they actually are." Aang stood to his feet, "I need a moment to myself. I'll be back."

Before any of them could respond to his words, he dashed out of the cave and leaped into the sky with his airbending; he floated there, staring at the expanse of the world before him. Time soon lost all meaning; he allowed himself to rest from the onslaught of emotions that had been stirred within him. For too long, he had been struggling with the ramifications of his actions in the past, but now, because of the Tree of Time's gift, he finally had closure and was truly able to move on from the past; he wouldn't have doubts about it ever again because he knew the truth.

A flash of blue drew his attention to the ground, and he watched wide-eyed as Azula blasted jets of hot flames out of her feet and hands; she flew up into the sky and Aang descended to meet her halfway.

"Hey," he whispered, staring into her beautiful golden eyes; she suddenly dispersed her flames and Aang gripped her hands tightly, holding her to keep her from dropping from the sky. "What are you doing?"

"I trust you," she looked up at him; her hands wrapped around his neck and her feet were on top of his. "Everything that you experienced these past days… I can't even imagine how difficult it has been for you." Her fingers were gentle against his neck and he sighed gratefully. "I'm sorry," she murmured.

"You have nothing to apologize for," he assured, not understanding her line of thought. "All of the choices I made were mine."

"As you repeatedly said in the cave," her lips twitched. "It relieves me that you have finally received your much-needed closure."

"Was it that obvious?"

"To me, yes. I always knew that it haunted you, regardless of your mastered chakras. My words cannot easily express how relieved I am that you experienced what you did, to have that precious chance."

"Although it was immensely painful, I realized that the Tree of Time was correct – about everything."

Azula nodded and wet her lips, a rare vulnerable expression crossing her face. "When you revealed that you were given the chance to change the past with the Tree of Time's blessing… I was alarmed; it scared me."

"Why?" He tilted his head, "I thought that you were relieved that I experienced it."

"I am, but at first, I was honestly terrified because… I feared that you would want your old life… more than this one."

"It was much more difficult than I had led you all to believe," he admitted softly, honestly. "Gyatso really helped me see what I already knew but didn't want to believe."

"How did he help you?"

"He listened to me and understood; he was wiser than I. Mostly, I desperately tried to convince him to tell me to save the Air Nomads, save all of them and destroy Sozin's armies. I wanted him to tell me that my desire to save our people was just. He left the decision up to me after explaining some things and making me see the truth, not the falsehoods that I had forced myself to believe. What really forced me to accept it, I think, was when he mentioned that I had already decided."

Azula frowned, "What do you mean?"

"He said that, unconsciously, I had already chosen; he was right." Aang squeezed her tighter and felt the curves of her body, felt her breasts press against his hard chest. "He helped me realize that if I had truly believed that I should save the Air Nomads and stop Sozin, then I wouldn't have even spoken with him. Instead, I would have traveled to all of the Air Temples and warned them, destroying Sozin's legions before they reached their destination. I had already known… what needed to happen. He said that I just needed to accept it; he said that the only reason why I had sought him out was to seek reassurance, to know if I had chosen wisely."

"He was right."

"He was, and I'm so happy that I was able to see him, to talk to him. There was nothing left unsaid this time; he said that I was the son who he… who he never knew who he had found after he used energybending to give me all of the knowledge that I never knew about the Air Nomads."

"It would have been an honor to meet him," she looked up at him. "He sounds incredible; your father-figure was much better than mine."

Aang felt a small laugh escape him. "Yes, he was incredible. You're not mad, are you?"

"About what?"

"Well, I thought that, perhaps, you might have the irrational belief that I should have killed Sozin and then maybe, somehow your childhood would be different."

"Don't be ridiculous," her amusement was genuine. "I'm not… I understand why you did what you did; it was your decision, not mine."

"I'm glad that you realize that and I'm thankful that you are so incredible."

"I would never be anything else," she sniffed haughtily before a small smile graced her full lips. "Will you be okay?"

Aang sighed, "I will be, but it will take time. It was traumatic, everything that I saw and experienced."

Azula tilted her head and her golden eyes were serious. "Do you regret it? Do you wish that you… chose differently?"

"No, I don't," he pulled her even closer. "If I learned anything from my journey among the copious amount of information that I was flooded with, it was the things and people who truly matter to me."

"What or who did you realize, then?"

"You, Azula, mean more to me than the past, than the life that I thought that I should have lived. I don't need that fantasy because I have you; the other life would have been miserable without you." He leaned down and their lips were barely touching. "This life is better than anything that I could have had if I had decided to change the past; you are the best woman for me."

"You sly wordsmith," she swallowed, slapping his chest half-heartedly; her golden eyes looked suspiciously misty. "A repeat performance from last night is at hand, Avatar," her fingers pulled his head down all the way and she kissed him hotly, erotically; her tongue stroked his own, causing him to shiver with desire and his manhood to spring to life. "I will show you why I am the best woman for you."

XxXxXxXxXxX

"So, where are we going next, Aang?" Sokka demanded at dinner, chewing on Komodo Chicken. "We've been here too long; we need to move."

"I know," he sighed. "That's an excellent question but I have no idea where Ozai or Vaatu are. I already messaged the Northern Water Tribe to protect the Spirit Oasis at all costs. Honestly, it seems that we are stuck at an impasse in regard what to do."

"Well, perhaps a journey of recruitment would be fortuitous," Ursa suggested, clasping her hands together. "My husband is going to raise an army; we will need one, as well."

"That's a good point, Aang." Katara pointed out somewhat sadly, "Ozai won't stop."

"No, he will not." Zuko nodded towards him, "The Fire Nation will fight by your side. I will also be with you for as long as you need. Uncle Iroh is my regent for an indefinite period of time; the Fire Nation will follow my lead."

Azula raised an eyebrow from beside Aang. "Are you sure about that, Zuzu? Remember, the Fire Sages joined father and we both know that there are many disgraced military commanders and bitter Noble Houses who would rebel against their Fire Lord if they were sponsored by someone of great power."

Zuko slumped, his fingers rising to pinch his nose; Katara rubbed his shoulder in sympathy. "Damn it, you're right."

"Aren't I always?" Azula smirked but it was in jest, "We can't rely on the Fire Nation; father possibly has supporters of whom we know nothing."

"The Earth Kingdom would join the Avatar." Suki pointed out from beside her husband, "You freed them from the Fire Nation, Aang."

"I wouldn't be too certain of that." Toph countered fiercely. "I was at Ba Sing Se, remember? The most powerful men of Ba Sing Se had allied themselves with _Dark_  and the Loser Lord and tried to kill me and capture Twinkletoes and Lighting Psycho; their hatred for those of Fire is immense."

"Everyone's hatred is," Ty Lee murmured.

Aang straightened in alarm and groaned; panic was a steady presence in his mind. "I forgot about Ba Sing Se! Oh… I killed Kuei and… everyone important. There is a major power vacuum, now; the Nobles and Kings of the other Major Cities are probably fighting over who gets Ba Sing Se's throne while the lower classes are destroying the city, looting places, and orchestrating raids!"

"You need not worry about such things, Avatar Aang," Ursa assured him, looking kind. "Iroh received word while you were at the Eastern Air Temple that King Bumi of Omashu was at the forefront to be named the next King of Ba Sing Se."

"Good," he breathed out before a smile pulled his lips. "We will travel to Ba Sing Se, then."

"Why?" Suki asked curiously, "It pains me to point this out, but the last time when you stayed in Ba Sing Se, Appa was killed and you, Azula, and Toph were all attacked; you killed Ba Sing Se's King. I don't think that they would be happy to see you return."

Aang closed his eyes for a moment at the memories. "Bumi is my friend; he won't allow anything or anyone to harm Appa." He looked to where Samir was playing with Momo in Appa's saddle. "No harm will come to any of us, either."

"How can you be so certain?" Zuko asked, hunched forward, golden eyes peering at him. "Wait, how are you even friends with King Bumi? He's over a century…" he trailed off in realization. "You knew him before the Great War?"

"Yes," he nodded. "Bumi and I knew each other before; he is my friend, my oldest friend behind Appa."

Sokka whistled, "That's some stiff competition."

"Great," Mai said dryly. "My head will be put on a pike."

When Aang saw Azula smirk, he spoke before she could. "Don't worry, I won't allow that to happen."

"But what about Omashu?" Katara questioned, frowning. "What will happen to it if Bumi journeys to Ba Sing Se? He's the King!"

"Well, we do know that Bumi has grandchildren based on what Iroh had told us." Sokka rubbed his scarce beard, "Did he choose an heir to his throne?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I knew that Bumi had children and then grandchildren, but I've never met either of his grandchildren; his children died during the Great War, sadly. That's all that I know."

"Toph, you are awfully quiet," Zuko pointed out with a frown. "You were living in Omashu, right?"

Aang looked at her, "You were on a first-name basis with Bumi. Do you know what would happen in a situation such as this? Do you know how his family is centered?"

Sadness shined in Toph's milky depths. "I don't know," she said quietly, barely heard over the roar of the campfire.

"How can you not know?" Sokka demanded incredulously, "Surely Bumi had a grandkid that was a powerful Earthbender. I mean, look at him! He might be stronger than Toph!"

Silence.

All eyes locked on Toph as she didn't rebuke Sokka's statement, and Aang suddenly remembered Toph's words from earlier:  _'Yeah, I bet that I could finally even kick Bumi's ass, now!'_  She hadn't said it to be funny; she was being serious, and she had looked excited by the prospect.

"Are you all right, Toph?" Katara asked gently, eyes roaming over her in concern. "What's wrong?"

Toph huffed, but she sounded tired, haggard. "I'm fine, Sugar Queen."

"Are you sure?" Katara touched Toph's shoulder, "We're here if you need to talk."

"I'm fine! I don't know what has gotten stuck up all of your fucking asses!"

Azula calmly defused the tense situation. "So, it has been agreed that we are traveling to Ba Sing Se, then, yes?"

"Yes," Aang nodded his head, ready to talk about anything else. "While there, we can garner the support of Bumi and the other Earth Kings. Wait, Zuko, have you been in contact with the Sun Warriors?"

Zuko groaned aloud, "Damn it! No, I haven't," he put his face in his hands. "Honestly, I kind of… forgot about them."

Aang's eyes widened, "How could you forget about them?"

"I don't know… I was busy and the last time when I spoke with them was right before I found mother."

"It might have been hasty to send the guards and Yu Yan away, Zuzu." Azula commented, "We could have written a letter to the Sun Warriors. Who are they?"

Zuko finally looked up, "They are the last Sun Warrior Tribe; they are ancient and guard a sacred secret."

Azula's eyebrows rose, "Their assistance would be most fortunate, then."

"I'm aware," he groaned again. "We'll have to contact them some other way."

Aang's eyes darted towards his friend, "How are the Dragons, Ran and Shaw?"

"Dragons?" Azula stared at them, "What are you talking about? There are no more Dragons. Sozin and Azar slaughtered off the species because of an overpopulation; the Dragons raided and stole food from villages. Uncle Iroh even killed the last one!"

Aang raised an eyebrow at the reason for Dragon Hunting. "Wait, there was a viable reason… why the Dragons were hunted?"

"Yes, Avatar Aang." Ursa's voice was sad, "Before and during the first decade of the Great War, the Fire Nation was terrorized by the overpopulated Dragons. Firstly, our soil was not as fertile as that of the Earth Kingdom's and because of that, people were starving. As you all know, the Fire Nation is made of a series of large volcanoes. The villages nearest to the active volcanoes were often dead within a year. The Dragons hunted down animals meant to feed the towns and destroyed their fields for what many suspected to be as a grounds for mating."

"Dragon Hunting began because our people were dying." Zuko said quietly, "Over time, it slowly turned into a sport to achieve personal glory. It never started because of Sozin's greed; the Dragons were considered holy to our people and the pillars of strength that we measured ourselves against. Because we were fighting the Great War, though, it had to be done if the Children of Fire were to survive."

"Why did you mention the Dragons, Ran and Shaw?" Azula stared into Aang's eyes, "The Dragons are extinct. Are you saying that some survived Sozin's sport?"

"I don't see how any could have survived, though." Ty Lee pointed out and quelled under Azula's glare, but she surprisingly kept speaking. "Sozin had Azar with him; they were the unstoppable pair who slew all of the Dragons."

"There are still stories of Azar in the Noble Houses." Mai commented, "They are often used to get children to behave or Azar will eat them."

"We know that," Azula snapped. "What I want- "

"Actually, we didn't know that." Sokka pointed out, "That's quite interesting."

Azula inhaled slowly, "Were there any Dragons that survived, Zuzu?"

"Yes, only two." Zuko nodded his head and Azula's eyes darted to her brother's. "Aang and I found them when I first joined the Gaang after the Day of Black Sun; they were guarded by the Sun Warriors. Ran and Shaw showed us true firebending."

"So, the sacred secret was the continued existence of the Dragons." Azula murmured, "Father would have killed for that information."

"So, what do you know about Ran and Shaw, Zuko?" Aang tried to steer the conversation back to what he wanted. "They would be strong allies against Ozai and Vaatu."

"After my ascension to Fire Lord, I learned that Ran and Shaw were not a mated pair as we had both assumed. They are actually both females, unrelated; they are unbonded, too."

Aang's head fell in dismay. "Then the Dragons will become truly extinct," he murmured. "It will be just like the… Sky Bison and Winged-Lemurs."

Zuko nodded sadly, "That, too, is what I have unfortunately concluded."

"Nevertheless, they would be good allies against Ozai and  _Dark_." Azula pointed out, "We should write a letter to the Sun Warriors as soon as possible."

"We'll probably be able to write a letter to the Sun Warriors when we reach Ba Sing Se." Katara smiled at Zuko reassuringly, "Bumi would surely allow us the use of his messengers. Don't worry, Zuko, everyone makes mistakes and I have committed more than my fair share."

"You and me both," his friend muttered, looking at her.

"It must be a family trait, then, Zuzu," Azula offered casually. "First, it was Sozin and Azulon; then it was Uncle Iroh and father, and now, it has been you and me."

"But Sozin and Azulon weren't brothers," Sokka frowned. "They were father and son."

"The conclusion remains the same, I believe." Ursa smiled sadly. "I witnessed a lot of it firsthand."

Aang grabbed Azula's hand and she looked at him, golden eyes meeting his gray ones. "Not anymore," he smiled gently. "All of the mistakes in each of our lives that we have committed are in the past." He held the gaze of everyone in the cave. "I recently realized, through the help of an old friend, that you can't continue to hold onto the past whether good or bad. You can only move forward and create new memories."

Looking at the faces of Azula and Samir, Aang reckoned that those memories would be most precious.

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Can we talk?"

Aang glanced at Sokka in surprise but nodded, stepping away from the others to follow him outside the cave. "Yeah, what is it? We're about to depart for Ba Sing Se. Is something wrong?"

Sokka rubbed the back of his neck; he looked uncomfortable. "Look, I um… I realized recently that um… I didn't treat you right after the Great War."

He felt his features smooth out before he nodded. "No, you… didn't."

"Fuck, man, I… I had no idea." Sokka looked desperate, even ashamed. "I never knew that you were so angry at me, at us for… you know…"

"Abandoning me?"

"I wouldn't use that word, but- "

"What word would you use?"

Sokka swallowed, "A separation?"

"Maybe that's how you see it, but from my angle it was different." Aang felt drained; he had been through too much lately. "I was alone as a young boy and I had trusted that you and Katara would… would stick with me, but looking back, I can see that was unrealistic. We were all children, immature and selfish."

"Yes, exactly!" Sokka nodded eagerly, "We didn't know better!"

"That's not what I'm saying, Sokka, not at all. I'm saying that I shouldn't have been surprised that that's what happened. Being alone really helped me grow up; it forced me to."

"But you were already so wise and mature, Aang! You… always knew things that none of us did. You would have been okay by yourself; the head on your shoulders was full of proverbs and knowledge. You're the fucking Avatar!"

Aang sighed, "Perhaps, but that was mostly from what I knew before the Great War, so I seemed a lot more cultured than I actually was. You and Katara were very sheltered living at the Southern Water Tribe whereas I had traveled all over the Four Nations as an Air Nomad when I was young with… Gyatso; the trips were hasty and were frowned upon by the Elders, I remember." He suddenly realized something, and he wondered he had never known before. "I was the only Air Nomad who was gifted the chance to travel, see the Four Nations; none of the other kids did that."

"Then it must have been because you were the Avatar."

"Yes, that must be it," he murmured softly before he focused back to the heart of the conversation. "I am the Avatar, yes, but first and foremost, I am Aang. I am still human, Sokka; fears and doubts plague me. I was still just a young boy whose purpose had ended. Without the distraction of the Great War and the looming threat of Ozai, the truth was all that was left. I was alone in a world that was foreign; nothing was ever the same, it couldn't be. I was forced to deal with all of that by myself because you and Katara and Toph weren't… there." Aang swallowed and controlled his emotions. "For a really long time, I have felt abandoned by you and Katara – and Toph, too. While you were all at home with your families or living with Bumi, I was alone with only Appa and Momo for company, along with my past lives."

Sokka frowned, "But that was your decision. You can't blame us for that."

Aang inhaled slowly, "I blame you for me being alone in the first place; you had said that I was your family after I found Gyatso's… corpse. From what I gathered during the Great War, the Water Tribes' familial values entailed that family wasn't supposed to abandon one another."

"It was a separation!" Sokka cried out, "Why can't you see that? It wasn't- …we would never abandon you!"

"Did you ever write to me? No, you didn't," his voice rose slightly. "When I visited the Southern Water Tribe after the Great War that one time when Katara and I were 'dating,' or whatever that was, it was apparent that you had all moved on from me. I had become a burden and that was the last time when we all ever spoke before our reunion at the Caldera after Ozai escaped from his prison."

"Well… yes, that's true, but we- "

"Do you call that a separation?" Aang asked quietly, "A separation implies that we would see each other again, but that wasn't how it felt. Before we ever saw each other again at the Caldera, I had honestly given up hope of ever seeing any of you again."

"You could have visited us! You can go anywhere in the world, Aang!" Sokka exploded and he began to look angry. "You should have flown down from your perch atop the fucking world and visited us!"

Aang's eyes widened slightly before they narrowed into slits. "Don't try to reverse this on me! It is not my fault! The fault is yours, Katara's, and Toph's!"

"No!" Sokka's face was now red and he pointed a finger at him. "You could have come down and we would have welcomed you, but no! You were too much of an Airbender, evading and avoiding!"

"There wasn't an inkling that any of you would have wanted me to visit!"

"There didn't need to be! You should have known!"

"How should I have known?" Aang stepped closer and he wasn't afraid to admit that he was relieved that he was taller than Sokka. "I needed assurance but never received it!"

"What fucking assurance?"

"THAT YOU CARED!" His chest was heaving and sweat broke out on his forehead; he stared at Sokka's shocked face. "You just left after the Great War with hardly a goodbye; you said that you were going home to the Southern Water Tribe, but that wasn't my home. I didn't really have a home and none of you seemed to realize that, if not care."

"No, we… we always thought that you would do your Avatar thing after everything; we thought that you'd be… be fine."

Aang suddenly felt very tired as he realized what had truly happened. "I think that I finally see where everything went wrong."

"You do?"

"None of us communicated… We never spoke about what we were going to do once the Great War was finished. That's… how all of this started."

"Fuck," Sokka breathed out with wide eyes. "You're right. By all of the Polar Dog shit in the Water Tribes, you're right."

A broken laugh escaped past his lips. "A breakdown of communication… Who would have thought?"

"So, we're… good now, right?" Sokka inquired hesitantly, "We figured things out?"

"It doesn't change anything, though," he pointed out softly. "Our mistakes as children still affect us as adults; they always will. This realization doesn't change what did and didn't happen. I am still angry with you, Katara, and Toph."

Sokka nodded and closed his eyes, looking deflated. "For whatever it's worth, I'm so sorry, man. I… I never knew; it seemed impossible."

"It relieves me that while you may not understand, you are aware of it now. Thank you for the apology; it does help a little."

"Do you know… when we'll be okay?"

"Just talking with you guys makes it a whole lot easier," he said honestly. "If we keep doing what we're doing, I think that we'll all be fine. Time… does heal all wounds, I've found; it'll heal these, too."

XxXxXxXxXxX

Landing in Ba Sing Se, the place where Appa had been killed, Aang felt nervous even though he had no reason to be because official word had reached them that Bumi was the regent King of Ba Sing Se indefinitely.

It had been far too long since he had seen his old friend.

"Well, well, well." A familiar voice cackled when Appa landed and Aang grinned, whirling around to face the elder Earthbender. "Look what the Sky Bison dragged in!"

"Bumi!" He leaped forward and slammed into his friend's form, squeezing tightly; he dimly noticed that he was a lot taller than his oldest friend after Appa. "It's so good to see you!"

Bumi laughed and the sound restored a piece of his soul that had been missing. "It's good to see you too, Aang," he pulled back and his lopsided eyes connected with his own. "What took you so long? I've been waiting. Although we've been writing one another, I haven't seen you since… the first weeks after the Great War."

Aang grimaced and felt his jubilation fade. "I'm sorry, Bumi. I just had… had to… to take time to… mourn and heal from everything that happened. I had Avatar duties and while I could have visited you, I couldn't face the reminder upon seeing you so… old. I had been searching for peace but never found it." Upon seeing the sadness shining in Bumi's eyes, he quickly reassured him. "No! I'm beginning to be okay again, and I've finally moved on from the past with help. The Air Nomads are gone but they will always live on in me and my children."

"Children?" Bumi slowly beamed, "Finally! I see that you've found yourself a wife to settle down with and bring some new Airbenders into this world; it's been far too long since I've felt their energy."

"That's the plan," he nodded and felt the rest of the Gaang finally approach.

Bumi tilted his slightly maniacal gaze towards the women. "So, who here is the lucky Mother of the Air Nomads?" He hummed and he held up a hand before anyone could speak, "No! Don't tell me! I'm going to guess!"

Sokka opened his mouth, "Now wait for just a second-"

"Be our guest, Bumi," he interrupted Sokka with a smile. "None of us mind, do we?"

Zuko looked amused, "This will be interesting."

"Fine," Sokka muttered sullenly.

Bumi stepped past Aang and stared at Toph; he raised a bushy, white eyebrow. "We both know that you aren't the one hooking up with my oldest and greatest friend." His words caused Toph to blush heavily and Aang frowned at the sight. "He is anxious to speak with you, you know?"

She licked her lips, "Thanks for letting me know."

Ignoring the questions that raised, Aang watched as Bumi circled the remaining women and lone child: Suki, Mai, Ty Lee, Samir, Katara, Ursa, and Azula.

"Well, I'll be – an Airbender!" Bumi smiled widely and tears welled in his eyes; he kneeled down and stared into Samir's gray eyes. "Aang, is she… did you…?"

"No, I adopted her and gifted her airbending; it changed her to look more like me."

Bumi held out his wizened hand and Samir hesitantly gripped it. "I haven't had the great pleasure of meeting an Airbender besides Aang in over a century. What's your name, little one?"

"Samir," she said shyly, eyes darting towards Aang and he nodded encouragingly.

"Well, Samir, it is an absolute joy to meet you." Samir nodded and dashed over to Aang, who picked her up easily and Bumi smiled. "You're going to have your hands full, old friend; the Children of Air are hard to raise."

Aang felt his own lips pull into a smile. "I know, but it will be worth it."

Bumi focused back on the other women. "No," he stared solely at Suki. "You're not the chosen Mother of the Air Nomads, and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong – which I know that I'm not – but I suspect that the former jennamite-prisoner over there is your husband."

"That is correct, King Bumi," Suki bowed perfectly. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh," Bumi cackled and looked at Sokka. "She is perfect for you; she balances you out."

"Hey!" Sokka looked insulted, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, hush, darling," Suki chided gently as she aligned herself next to him and he wrapped an arm around her. "I want to watch this."

"Well, this is unexpected," Bumi stared at Mai with his wide eyes. "I never thought that I would be in the presence of the daughter of the man who tried to steal Omashu from me and name it New Ozai."

"I never thought that you would still be alive," she countered dryly, raising a brow.

Bumi hooted, "Oh, I like you! Blunt and straight to the point! You're a Noble, but nothing like the pretentious Noble Houses! Anyway, I don't see you becoming the wife of an Air Nomad."

"Thank you," Mai nodded with genuine gratefulness and Aang rolled his eyes.

"Now, who are you?" Bumi tilted his gaze at Ty Lee. "If my memory is correct, you are the chi-blocker who I read reports about."

Ty Lee nodded her head respectfully and smiled brightly. "That is correct, King Bumi."

"Hmm… You're actually quite like Aang when he was younger, so you're not his chosen lover." Bumi stated bluntly, "You're too bubbly; your personality is somewhat similar but Aang needs someone more grounded in reality who can support him as the Avatar."

"Avatar Aang?" Ty Lee laughed, "Well, he is really handsome, but I have already met someone who I have my eyes on."

"The Earthbender?" Mai rolled her eyes, " I don't understand how you could be attracted to him; his mustache is… unappealing."

Aang's eyes widened, "Wait, was his name Haru?"

"Yes!" Ty Lee beamed and giggled, "We met him while we were on the run after we were exiled; he is really cute and very muscular."

Zuko suddenly chuckled, "I didn't see that coming," his friend muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I didn't either," Sokka responded with wide eyes.

Bumi looked at Ursa and raised an eyebrow after a moment. "While you could still provide children, you're too old," he laughed and Ursa looked amused. "I mean no disrespect whatsoever, Lady…?"

"Ursa," she supplied with a smile.

"Ahh, no disrespect whatsoever, Dowager Fire Lady Ursa, but Aang is too young for you." Bumi's eyes were enlightened and he grinned crookedly. "You're very beautiful, a head-turner. I'm shocked that you don't have a man wrapped around your finger."

Ursa laughed graciously, "I have mainly been focused on my children, King Bumi. I have not had the time or need to pursue a husband and remarry yet."

"Well, message me if you ever find yourself desiring one." Bumi winked, "You are most beautiful, and I wouldn't mind the company; it would be a good alliance for your son, too."

Zuko face-palmed and Azula laughed when their mother flushed lightly. "I will keep that under advisement, King Bumi."

Aang found himself chuckling slightly as Bumi still had the moves to woo a lady, it seemed. Before the Great War, Aang had often visited Bumi and the Earthbender would spend hours of his trip teaching Aang the art of wooing a woman; his friend had been quite successful even at his young age.

"That leaves Katara and…" Bumi trailed off as he stared at Azula, mostly at her garbs, intrigue carved into his wizened face. "Now that's interesting, very interesting."

Katara frowned, looking slightly insulted. "You don't think that I could be the Mother of the Air Nomads?" Aang raised a brow at the question but he noticed that Zuko stared at her with something that he couldn't name.

Bumi shook his head, "No, not at all. You're not suited to be an Airbender's mate, nonetheless the Avatar's. Believe me, I'm a scholar when it comes to both; the Avatar's life mate is very important and you're not… suitable. She, on the other hand, is perfect," he stared at Azula, his strong, wrinkled index finger pointing at her. "I can't believe that I never thought of it."

Azula raised an eyebrow at Bumi. "Do you recognize who I am?"

"Should I?" Bumi asked mischievously, lopsided eyes sparkling in the sunlight. "Is there anything memorable about you… Princess Azula of the Fire Nation?"

A smirk graced Azula's lips and she aligned herself next to Aang; he felt pride at the pride that she emanated. "You are correct, King Bumi. I am Avatar Aang's lover and will be the Mother of the Air Nomads."

"Just Bumi, please," his friend stepped closer and tears were in his eyes. "Thank you, Princess Azula. It has been a deep fear of mine that Aang would be alone for the rest of his days."

"Your confidence in me is touching," he said flatly with a frown. "I thought that you knew me better than that."

"I do, but I think that you didn't see what and who you were becoming." Bumi's eyes were sad and relieved at the same time. "After the Great War, you became a renowned recluse. The only times when you were seen was when you would fly on Appa's back and see if people needed help, that's it. You were holed up in the Southern Air Temple for years with no one besides Appa and Momo; you were on the road to a dark and lonely life."

Aang swallowed, "I'm glad that I decided to take that vacation on Ember Island, then."

"Me too," Azula said softly.

"And me three, then!" Bumi laughed before it faded, and his eyes hardened into pure granite. "You take care of him. If anything happens to him, I'll be looking for you," his friend's voice was lowered harshly, grating against his ears. "You will answer to me if you hurt him."

Azula laughed genuinely, "Oh, I think that you and I will get along fantastically, Bumi."

Looking at their two smiles, Aang felt wary of the stunts that the two of them could pull off together.

Bumi turned to Zuko and nodded his head respectfully. "It is an honor to have the Fire Lord visit Ba Sing Se."

"It is an honor to be here, King Bumi." Zuko nodded with a small smile. "Thank you for allowing me passage into the city."

His friend snorted and waved his hand dismissively. "Please, I'm not like that prick, Kuei. I never liked that asshole."

Aang agreed with Bumi's assessment of the former King of Ba Sing Se. At first, Kuei had been kind and benevolent, but the pull of royal power soon poisoned his heart; he was corrupted by the lure of greatness.

He saw Toph's eyes widen and dread swiftly spread across her features. He was about to open his mouth and ask her what was wrong when a voice called out behind Bumi.

"Aren't you forgetting something, gramps?"

"Ahh, yes," his friend coughed, and his eyes lingered on Toph for a moment. "Everyone, this is my grandson, Bor. He will become the King of Ba Sing Se after I have concluded him to be fit for the throne; that was key to convincing the other Earth Kings to give me Ba Sing Se. Apparently, they don't want me on it for too long."

Aang saw a handsome man with dark hair and vibrant green eyes step beside Bumi. He was about Sokka's height and quite muscular; he saw Toph's unseeing eyes avert to the ground and he put two and two together. Knowing that the sudden revelation in his mind was the truth, he blinked; the reason why Toph had been so skittish when speaking about Ba Sing Se, more specifically Omashu and Bumi and his family, was that of… Bor. Based on Aang's earthbending, the way their two heartbeats hammered in their chests indicated that they had most likely been lovers who loved each other.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Bor smiled politely but his eyes were staring at Toph mostly; emotions flashed in his green depths before he turned to Aang and he fell to his knees. "Avatar Aang, I have been raised on the stories that my grandfather shared of you when the two of you grew up together before the Great War. It is an absolute honor to be in your presence," his eyes were filled with admiration. "I don't really know what to say…"

"Thank you, Bor, and it's all right," he smiled down at his second oldest friend's grandson. "I'm sure that once we become better acquainted, you and I can forge our own memories together, sharing them as we age."

Bor nodded eagerly, awe carved into his features. "Absolutely, Avatar Aang," his eyes darted to Bumi and he mouthed, ' _The AVATAR!'_

Aang saw Azula hide a smile into his chest and the others share amused glances; his old friend sighed and clapped his hands together. "Well, I believe that we have been out in the open long enough; assassins could have easily picked us off. How about dinner? Are any of you hungry?"

"Are you insane?" Sokka exclaimed, "Well, actually, I kind of think that you are- "

"Sokka!" Suki smacked her husband's arm. "Don't say that!"

"Oh, sorry, but yes!" He waved his arms and didn't really look apologetic. "Please, I haven't eaten anything since breakfast!"

Bumi snorted, looking amused by the spectacle. "No worries, Lady Suki. I know of your husband's manner; it's quite funny, if not irritating." He turned around and the Gaang followed him into the palace. "Right this way, and then we'll eat dinner. I've had the chefs cook up something delicious."

"Just the way that I like it!" Sokka smacked his lips and began rubbing his hands. "Oh, I can't wait."

Looking around, Aang was relieved to notice that none of his previous 'visit' to the palace was remaining; everything had been repaired and been fixed. The loss of life had been dealt with; he didn't want to necessarily see what his rage-induced actions had wrought in front of Samir.

Azula leaned up and her lips grazed his cheek. "Tonight, I expect a satisfying night's rest, Avatar," she purred.

Aang grinned; he had definitely made the correct decision to travel to Ba Sing Se.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Zuko couldn't keep Katara's words from slithering through his mind constantly.  _'You don't think that I could be the Mother of the Air Nomads?'_ She had questioned angrily, staring at King Bumi with a wounded expression on her beautiful face.

Was she… hung up on Aang? Did Katara desire to… bear Airbenders?

Both questions had fire rushing in his blood and Dragons roaring in his spirit. After mastering his chakras, which increased his inner flame tenfold, Zuko had been forced to face several truths.

He was deeply attracted to Katara, probably even in love with her since she was always on his mind; he wanted her. Zuko had thought that she had felt the same, that she had wanted him back, but now he wasn't so sure. Her angry face from King Bumi's words haunted him; he had no idea where they stood, now. Did she care for him? Yes, he was certain that she cared for him, but unfortunately, he had no idea if she was attracted to him as he was to her.

Staring at her from across the enormous table in Ba Sing Se's Throne Room, Zuko was barely able to restrain the urge to bluntly demand answers in front of everyone; he felt frustrated. His fists clenched and he swiftly hid the evidence of his discontent under the table; he refused to cause a scene in front of both his mother and sister. Azula, specifically, would never let him hear the end of it if he did.

"So, Bumi," Zuko tried to focus on what Aang was saying from his position next to King Bumi. "Who is in charge of Omashu, now?"

King Bumi chortled and chewed on a piece of lettuce. "Anju, of course." Zuko didn't fail to notice that Toph's eyes widened in shock and upon seeing her expression, King Bumi's grandson, Bor chuckled in amusement. At the sound, Toph looked away and Zuko felt a frown touch his lips. Had Bor done something to offend the impervious Toph?

Suki raised a brow, "Anju?"

"Oh, my apologies," the King sent a quick, confused glance at Toph. "My granddaughter, Anju is the newest Queen of Omashu."

"You named an heir?" Aang asked in surprise, "It doesn't really seem like your style."

King Bumi cackled, his unnerving lopsided eyes glowing green like emeralds. "You're right, Aang!" He hunched forward and stared at the Avatar intently, "Do you remember when we used to ride down the mail chute in Omashu?"

Aang looked insulted, "Of course, I do. Why would you ask me that?"

"Good," the King nodded approvingly. "Now let me ask you something else. Did it ever occur to you why I was able to spend so much time with you? Did you ever witness me dealing with duties to Omashu's Throne? Was my father King of Omashu?"

"Wait, what are you saying?" Aang frowned, "You… told me that you found your father annoying."

"Yes, but was he the King?"

"No…"

"You weren't the Prince of Omashu," Azula concluded, sipping from her chalice. "You gained the throne some other way…"

King Bumi grinned crookedly. "Exactly, Azula; you're bright."

"Then how did you become King?" Sokka asked with his mouth full of meat. Zuko's laughter exhaled out of his mouth softly but he saw that Katara had no reservations; she openly rolled her eyes with a disgusted expression on her lovely face.

Zuko looked away and focused back on the conversation.

"As I'm sure you all know, I am a very strong Earthbender, the strongest actually." King Bumi declared with utter seriousness, leaning back in his chair. Zuko looked at Toph out of the corner of his good eye, surprised that she allowed such a statement to be said, but she didn't say anything; she listened to the King just as everyone else, a slight disappointment visible on her face. "Anyway, each ruler of Omashu, upon his or her ascension to the throne, is able to be challenged by anyone for their claim. Over a decade after… after the Air Nomads were killed," Zuko tried not to flinch, "Omashu's King passed away under uncertain circumstances. The Prince - just so you all know, he was a real prick - was gunning for the throne and usually, none would ever challenge their claim to the throne, but I did after he was newly-installed as King."

"Then, you won and became King of Omashu?" Aang guessed, chewing on a piece of lettuce that he had plucked off of King Bumi's plate. "That's what happened, right?"

King Bumi snorted and while he looked proud, he didn't look near as regal as any other King or leader who Zuko had met; he admired the difference. "Please, Aang, I didn't just win… I crushed that prideful pile of shit! Anyway, back to what we had been talking about. Anju was challenged by several arrogant Earthbenders for the throne, but she swiftly dealt with those posers. It was really fun to watch, actually; she made me proud."

"It was amazing to see," Bor finally spoke and his eyes were focused on Toph. "In fact, Anju used a move that Toph had shown her to seal her victory."

"Good for her," Toph responded flatly, looking down.

"Well, Bumi, it seems that your bloodline will be in charge of half of the Major Cities in the Earth Kingdom." Azula pointed out with a raised brow and Zuko realized that, as always, his sister was correct. "First, Omashu through your own strength and now, Ba Sing Se through the strength that has led to your ability to endure like the Earth. Now all you need to achieve complete dominion over the Children of Earth is Zaofu and Chyung. Then you will be on par with the Fire Lord in power."

King Bumi chuckled and shook his head. "While that is true, Azula, I think that only half of the Earth Kingdom is good enough. It would be too tiresome to deal with stubborn Children of Earth all of the time from everywhere across the nation."

"I know how that feels but with Children of Fire," Zuko declared irritably. "I'm always swamped with work and the people, particularly the Nobles feel and act so entitled."

His mother shook her head, "I have told you time and time again, Zuko, that if you were to marry, much of your stress would dissipate." His mother's golden eyes darted towards Katara and Zuko growled inwardly. "You just need to wed the right Fire Lady for you."

"That's true, Zuzu," his sister pointed out. "A Fire Lady could deal with the people while you could focus on the economy and military. That's what grandfather and grandmother did; their union seemed, to most, beneficial for the Fire Nation until grandmother passed on."

Zuko's fists began to smoke beneath the table, and he refused to look at Katara, the only person in the world who he was able to imagine bearing the mantle of Fire Lady. None of that mattered because, apparently, she desired to be the Mother of the Air Nomads!

Ty Lee giggled, "I remember my mother sharing a story with me when I was a child. She said that Fire Lady Ilah - may she rest in peace - once threatened a peasant who demanded that he was owed money from the Crown - ludicrous."

"Actually, I think I heard that one, too." Mai's dry tone echoed in his ears, "Fire Lord Azulon then executed the peasant for his immoral remarks about his Fire Lady."

"My mother was only a child when that happened," his mother recalled. "Iroh was barely into his teenage years, but it always stuck with me; it helped a lot with matters concerning Fire Lady Ilah, particularly how to deal with using her name in front of Azulon."

Bor stood to his feet when no one else spoke for a moment; his eyes were focused on Toph again. "Everyone, it has been an absolute pleasure to meet you all, especially you, Avatar Aang, but I need to rest." He glanced at them all and then bowed to King Bumi. "Goodnight, grandfather," he left through the wall.

Samir suddenly yawned and he saw Azula raise an eyebrow at Aang. "It seems that there is another one who feels the need to rest."

"Yes, you're right," his friend nodded, dark hair concealing his gray eyes for a moment. "I'll put her to bed; there will be no sleeping on Appa's tail tonight."

"Why not, daddy?" Samir rubbed her eyes, staring up at Aang. "I want to."

"Appa can't always sleep with you on his tail; he needs rest, too. You will sleep in a true bed tonight," his friend picked up Samir's weary form without protest and looked at King Bumi. "Where are our rooms, Bumi? I assume that Samir will be staying with Azula and I, yes?"

King Bumi's lopsided eyes focused on Aang, green irises glowing like emeralds. "I'll lead you to your room, Aang," he stood up and began to walk towards the hall. "Whichever you want is fine; one where Samir will stay you two, or she can get her own room that is next to your own and you can enter with your earthbending."

"What do you think, Samir?" Aang asked his daughter, Zuko's own… niece. "Do you want your own room next to mine and mommy's?" Zuko really had to get used to Azula being called 'mommy' quickly.

"Uh huh…" Samir mumbled and Aang chuckled, following Bumi out of the Throne Room.

When Azula looked very pleased by that development, he knew that his sister and Aang were going to be satisfied in the morning.

"So, what's the deal with you and Bor, Toph?" Ty Lee leaned forward, "Surely, I wasn't the only one who noticed the tension between you two."

"It's nothing," Toph snapped, jumping out of her chair and stalking towards the exit. "Mind your fucking business!"

"Huh," Sokka leaned back in his chair. "That was peculiar, although that's Toph for ya."

"Will you think about what I have said, Zuko?" His mother suddenly questioned, a pleading urge in her golden eyes. "Once this new war is over, you will return to your rightful inheritance as Fire Lord; you need a Fire Lady to become who you were meant to be."

Zuko swallowed, aware of all of the eyes looking at him. "I will keep it in mind, mother."

"That's all that I ask."

Katara stood abruptly from her seat. "If Toph had chosen to head for bed, I think that she had the right idea. Goodnight, everyone," she hastily exited the room.

"Why is everyone acting so weird?" Sokka wondered aloud, "Is there something that I'm… missing?"

"I think that there's something that you are always missing," Mai replied dryly, leaning back. "That seems to be the norm with you."

"Hey!" Sokka protested, "Just because you're now part of the Gaang doesn't mean that you can insult me!"

Zuko felt a small smile curve his lips as he watched Sokka and Mai banter, but it faded when his mother leaned closer to him. "Go after her; speak your mind and be blunt, but not too blunt."

"How can I be blunt, but not too blunt?" He hissed as he stood to his feet.

"You will know what to do, my son."

He frowned and unleashed a fake yawn. "It's been a long day, everyone, so goodnight; traveling takes a lot out of you." Zuko swiftly exited, ignoring Sokka's protests to stay, something about being ganged-up on.

He silently walked faster and caught up with Katara, lagging behind her; she didn't seem to be aware of his presence as he soundlessly followed her. When she journeyed into a garden that was abandoned, no guards in sight, his golden eyes narrowed; she hadn't been going to rest. Katara flowed through the luscious grass, looking resplendent in her gown under the light of the moon, and sat by a large tree, blocked from Zuko's eyesight.

"You know, if you're going to be sneaky, at least be sneaky about it." Katara's amused voice floated into his ears. "I think that you wanted me to feel you; you're usually a lot sneakier."

"I did," he sighed and slowly plopped down next to her. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Why are you following me, Zuko?" Katara turned her head up to him and despite himself, he felt drawn into the brilliant blue depths of her eyes. "What did you want to talk about?"

He swallowed, remembering his mother's words and decided to follow her advice. "I'm tired of this and these damn feelings that always swamp me!" Zuko exclaimed, feeling his anger begin to boil when he saw Katara's eyes narrow. He was so tired of hiding his feelings and being overwhelmed with irrational jealousy; he was tired of the uncertainty that he felt when Katara seemed to enjoy the presence of another man. He was tired of feeling like the second fiddle all of the time when it came to her with someone else; whether it was Aang or Sokka, it didn't matter.

"Excuse me?" Katara sputtered in indignation, a flush on her cheeks. "I don't know what you're talking about! Why are you yelling at me all of a sudden?"

"That's my exact fucking point!" Zuko's anger was brimming and he didn't care. "You have been so ignorant, and you continue to be! I am sick of these emotions that burst within me whenever you're around," his fists clenched and fire glowed inside his throat, begging to be spurted out of his mouth in waves. "I feel like pulling out my hair!"

"I am not ignorant, Zuko!" Katara jumped to her feet and pointed a shaking finger into his chest. "Your anger is clouding your judgment! You're acting just as you always used to!"

"My judgment?" Zuko demanded in a growl, unable to believe that she had claimed that. "What about your judgment? You know, since I had mastered my chakras, I thought that you and I shared something… that corresponded with love, but… I was wrong!" He spat out the words like a curse, which to him, they were; he ignored how her eyes widened, instead looming over her small form, glaring down at her with anger and hurt. "Apparently, you're still hung up on the all-mighty, perfect Avatar. If it had been you who felt what I felt and I didn't reciprocate your feelings, I would have actually told you and been honest instead of choosing the road of a fucking coward!"

Katara's blue eyes ignited in fierce ire; they resembled the sapphire flames that Azula wielded. "How dare you, Zuko? You have no right!"

"For what? I'm speaking the truth!"

"I am not hung up on Aang!"

Zuko jaw clenched as his fury sizzled; he leaned forward, dwarfing her form. "Really? You have the nerve to say that?"

"It's true!"

"Then what was that fucking reaction when King Bumi mentioned you not being the Mother of the Air Nomads, huh?"

She gasped and tears welled in her eyes; she wrapped her arms around herself. "I've always wanted to be a mother, Zuko! It's the one thing that I knew! Even before I was determined to become a Master in waterbending, I knew that I would always be a mother," she quieted and Zuko slowly felt his anger drain out of him; he felt like a hollow husk. "Whenever I hear someone who mentions the Mother of the Air Nomads, I can't help but immediately feel like that I would be amazing for it; no one could do what I could because I would be the best. I would like to think that, at least, but apparently, people… feel differently."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, feeling the shame gnaw at his heart like a beast. "I… I shouldn't have…"

Katara looked down for a moment and when she looked back up at him, tears spilled down her cheeks; her voice remained mostly steady, though. "I always thought that I would be married by now. I mean, Sokka has been married since the Great War and met Suki during the Great War. Meanwhile, I am 22-years-old and unmarried; it's shameful and… and humiliating. Even Aang has found his Mother of the Air Nomads with… with Azula of all people! Since I returned to the Southern Water Tribe, my father had slowly begun to pressure me to marry, but I always declined because I didn't like any of the men who journeyed from the Northern Tribe for positions of power. Eventually, it wasn't enough though and after years of declining, my father became more insistent."

"What do you… mean?"

"He gave me an ultimatum: he said that I had two years to marry a worthy husband of my choosing from a list that he had created, someone who would bring a good alliance for my Tribe, or I would be married against my will to… to King Kuei of Ba Sing Se."

"That fucking coward…" his fists clenched, and his fury was suddenly there, but it wasn't directed at Katara. "If I had known, I would have paid someone to assassinate Kuei, no matter the consequences. You don't deserve to marry such a fucking bastard."

"Your name was on the list; it was the only one underlined."

Zuko's eyes widened and he scarcely breathed; his rage vanished like smoke. "Wh- what?"

Katara's smile held no mirth. "Your name was the only one who I could have handled marrying; you never messaged my father about a marriage, but he was thinking of you as more than a suitable candidate, the best candidate. That's why, when your letter arrived, I was thrilled to leave."

"I had no idea…"

"Why would you?" Katara's tears finally stopped and she looked sad. "When we arrived at the Fire Nation, I was so… shocked by how beautiful you had become. I had never minded the thought of marrying you; you would bring the strongest alliance for my Tribe. We always shared such a connection and I always desired that in my future husband. That's why I was so desperate to talk to you at first, why I wanted… wanted to get you to forgive me. I was so foolish; a marriage with you seemed like the solution to my problem."

"I… I wouldn't… have been opposed," he murmured softly. "I've always… been attracted to you."

"Maybe my father knew that," she offered quietly; she didn't really look surprised by his admission. "Maybe that's why he put your name on that list."

"What happens, now?" Zuko felt the urge to touch her but refrained. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken to you that way and- "

"But you were right," she stared up at him; the tears were gone. "These feelings between us have begun to hinder me, even haunt me. I have been thinking about you so much that it has been a distraction. I keep thinking that we would be perfect for each other; we've always shared that connection. Even as enemies when you were the hot-headed, banished Fire Prince, I had always felt that you challenged me in ways that others didn't. With you, just reacquainting with you since I abandoned you, something that you forgave me for that I didn't deserve, I feel that I am my best self, Zuko. I desire to stay with you all of the time and I felt empty during the years when we didn't speak because of me." Her beautiful blue eyes gained determination and Zuko watched, tongue-tied, as she straightened, staring up at him clearly. "I've never been in love before, Zuko. All that I've heard are the stories from my Gran Gran, father, and mother."

"What are you saying?"

"Whatever this thing is between us, Zuko, what we have feels a lot like what they shared with me." Katara stepped forward until there wasn't much distance between them; he couldn't breathe or speak, only listen to her words. "The old me from before we mastered our chakras would probably have slapped or punched you for your accusations and words, but I can understand why you felt that way. Looking back, I guess… that I've been sending conflicting signals. I haven't been forward with you and for that, I'm sorry, Zuko." She licked her lips and Zuko's eyes were drawn to the saliva glistening on her mouth; he desperately yearned to kiss her. "Whatever this is, I'm willing to give it a shot if you are," she stared up at him and while he saw the confidence, he also saw the vulnerability hidden beneath her confident façade.

Zuko pulled her into his chest. "I'm definitely willing to give it a shot, Katara," he whispered into her hair. "If Azula can do it, I'm certain that I can, too."

"Good," her laugh was muffled by his chest, but he heard it; she nestled into his warmth and Zuko was content to just hold her.

He wanted more, a lot more, but he was able to wait until Katara was ready; he kissed her hair and inhaled deeply. The anger that had always been simmering in his heart had eased, cooled under the healing touch of Katara's admission. He felt better than he had in a long time, maybe even ever, and he knew why he felt lighter.

He loved her and it seemed that she loved him back.

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**Holy smokes! That was the longest chapter I have ever written. I'll try to keep that from happening again. Well, that's this one, folks! Please leave a review and tell me what you thought! I would really appreciate it!**

**So, a lot, and I mean A LOT of stuff happened in this chapter:**

****Aang makes it back to the Southern Air Temple on the day of Sozin's Comet! I really hope that the meeting between the Elders was realistic. I tried to highlight the stark contrasts between Gyatso and the others. Honestly, it seemed kind of Canon to me that the Air Nomads were hypocritical. They preached freedom, but they regulated their way of life very strictly; they had rules for everything. That is NOT freedom and while I may be misinterpreting things, I don't think that I am.**

**Also, who else was confused when Elder Pasang was going to send Aang to the Eastern Air Temple? It never made sense to me that Aang still had more training to do with airbending; he was the youngest Master in history. (The only thing that makes sense is that he still needs to learn about the deep knowledge of his culture, that's it.) You don't become a Master unless you have perfected the forms. He shouldn't need any more training but then I realized who was most likely at the Eastern Air Temple: Guru Pathik! The Air Nomads had refused to message the other nations of Sozin's lust for conquest and that is terrible, but they couldn't have just been sitting there like sitting ducks, right? They must have had a plan, especially since the Avatar was borne of them, regardless of their pacifistic ideals, so I thought that they would want Aang to master the Avatar State early to stop Sozin's war. Otherwise, if they had been serious about Aang starting his Avatar training early, they would have sent him to one of the Water Tribes to master waterbending.**

**Aang meets with Gyatso and they get a reunion! I wanted Aang to have closure with his father figure and the Air Nomads. Although he had doomed his younger self to a century's sleep, he still hadn't fully accepted what had happened to the Air Nomads, how he was all alone. He had thought that he could still have both lives, the one of the past and future, but he couldn't; it was unrealistic. One had to be annihilated and Aang, ultimately, chose the past. Gyatso was able to explain to him and set his mind straight about the Air Nomads. They had become stagnant in their beliefs and as a result, they had distanced themselves from the true teachings and ideology of airbending. They had become callous and cold; they had fallen, indeed, from what they once were. Aang and Gyatso get to say goodbye to each other, which I thought would be very crucial for Aang in his journey of acceptance. A lot of people, when their family members die, don't get that closure, that message of goodbye that they so desperately needed. Aang had to wait over eight years and then travel over a century to the past, but eventually, he does get that precious gift.**

**Sozin is who kills Gyatso and I really struggled to do that scene. When we find Gyatso's skeleton in the show, there are dozens and dozens of Fire Nation soldiers' corpses and skulls. That tells you immediately that Gyatso fought them and was an absolute badass by killing them all. While we don't know why he went against his pacifistic ideals in Canon, in this story, it was to protect Aang from being discovered as he tried to get him back to his own time. Now, as for Gyatso's death, I struggled with it, too. From his skeleton, there weren't any blunt force trauma or blackened bones. He also still had most of his Air Nomad garbs, and the beaded necklace was still intact. So, there couldn't have been a fireblast or lightning strike because those would have blackened his bones, destroyed parts of the body, and destroyed the necklace and clothes. (I'm aware that since it was a kid's show, they wouldn't have shown stuff like that anyway, but I want things to line up.) Since Gyatso was such a badass, Sozin is the only one who can kill him, and I created the raising inner body temperature; that is very deadly! A Firebender as powerful as Sozin, especially under the power of Sozin's Comet, could effortlessly do that; it would kill someone from the inside out and be undetectable by looking at a skeleton – so it lines up with Canon!**

**Afiko is actually a real character in** _**Avatar: The Last Airbender.** _ **He was known as the Betrayer because he gave the Fire Nation, and thus, Sozin the location of the Air Temples. He was never mentioned or given screen time in the tv show, but he was in the ATLA card game and that is where his story was created. I always liked the idea of an Airbender betraying the Air Nomads because Sozin and the Fire Nation had no idea where the Air Temples were, nonetheless how to get to them. For all they knew, the Air Nomads might have lived on small islands. In Canon, the Airbenders were all wiped out in a single day, the day of Sozin's Comet. Very few escaped and those who did were quickly found and killed. That type of operation takes vigorous, meticulous planning and the knowledge of the location and any weak points. Sozin could have** **NEVER known any of that unless he received the intel from a treacherous Airbender, so I included Afiko; he is – probably rightly so – disillusioned with the High Council of Elders and never liked Aang because he was envious. In case you're wondering, soundbending is at it sounds.**

**Aang kills him and while I'm aware that might seem out of character, Aang has killed before in Canon, remember? Look at the Northern Air Temple, the Northern Water Tribe, and General Fong's military base. Aang just experienced the most traumatic moment of his life and Afiko certainly deserves such a death; it was realistic, to me. While Aang couldn't kill Sozin, he could kill Afiko because Afiko was a nobody in history; time wouldn't change because Afiko's death and plus, Aang was feeling vengeful, and rightly so.**

**Aang and Sozin talk! I really wanted to, at the very least, have them meet eyes or something, but then the scene grew a head of its own. I hope that I depicted Sozin's madness but also his regret of Roku's death because I truly do believe that Sozin's always regretted what he did to Roku, but he was consumed by madness and lust for power, or in this story, consumed by Agni's and thus, Vaatu's darkness. Sozin's Dragon appears at the end but doesn't attack Aang because he could kill his bonded partner.**

****Hama is returning and has allied with Ozai, Vaatu, and any and all who have allied with them! Boy, the Gaang is going to have their hands full against the enemy. I added the part of Vaatu healing Hama by flooding her chi with dark energy because I think that it makes sense. Because of her imprisonment, her torment by the Fire Nation, and her hiding in a Fire Nation village for decades, thus not being able to bend in front of others, Hama was left very weak and old** _**.** _ **In my opinion, it was shown in the** _**Imprisoned** _ **episode of the show that the Earthbenders had lost their will to bend their element in the Fire Nation's boat prison. They were weak and looked old. This means that if a bender ignores the calling to their element, health concerns arise. Hama wasn't able to bend in sight of people for decades. As a result, her body suffered tremendously. Vaatu flooded her chi with dark energy which, with the help of her own Water chi on the night of a full moon, healed her body, restoring her to what she would look like currently if her body had been taken care of.**

**In Canon, Guru Pathik is 150 years old and is in great shape and more importantly, health. He is a non-bender; he has no element under his control so the only explanation for his lifespan would be that of his spiritual connection and thus, more importantly, his chi. Benders live far longer because of their chi. A non-bender is the same as a regular human, so they have a lifespan that is about 75 years, give or take a few. A regular bender's chi is stronger than a non-bender's and as a result, their lifespan is doubled or so compared to a non-bender's. This also means that there are health benefits for those with good chi flow and who are also powerful benders. Women, specifically, are different if they are benders and have a good chi flow. Women, from what I've gathered by reading through some stuff (although I may be wrong and feel free to correct me), can continue to have children as long as their hormones are still active; then menopause doesn't happen. Here's the link where I found that information: www . medicalnewstoday articles / 320228 . p h p (Remove all of the spaces.) So, this means that anyone who has mastered their chakras, and thus their chi flow, will live longer than normal benders, and also, of course, have their hormones in a permanent state of awakening. In case you don't understand: their bodies would have all of their chi flowing through them at all times, so as long as they don't pollute their chakras and block their flow, they won't have to worry about their hormones shutting down for a really long time.**

**So, a bender could have children a lot later in life than non-benders. I think that it's already Canon because of how Zuko and Azula's lineage through their mother, Ursa is really, really strange. For regular humans/non-benders, it would be impossible for Avatar Roku to be Ursa's maternal grandfather. Remember, Roku died 112 years before the beginning of the show when he was only 70-years-old; his wife, Ta Min was around the same age as he was. Their daughter, Rina must have been, at the very least, in her early 30's, if not older - Ta Min was never shown to be a bender, so she wouldn't be able to birth children at a later age - at the time of her father's death, but Ursa was born about 30 years before the beginning of the show, so over 70 years later, give or take a few. So that means, for this to work, Ursa's mother, Rina must have been about 100-years-old, if not older, at the day of Ursa's birth - and she must be a bender, too. It doesn't add up unless the rules of aging and physiology are different between benders and non-benders. (Clearly, the issue stems from the creators not doing all of the math in advance, and not intending for Zuko to be descended from Avatar Roku – and/or for Roku to be Sozin's best friend/contemporary – until later on after much had already been decided.) Also, this could be how Fire Lady Ilah was able to give birth to Ozai after 20 years since Iroh's birth.**

**There are many examples of the different lifespans. The timeline in Avatar, for me, is based on the original timeline before the creators changed stuff and retconned it. (If you visit www . Avatarspirit . net that is where you can see the timeline – just remove the spaces.) In the** _**Siege of the North Part. 2** _ **episode, Koh reveals that Avatar Kuruk tried to murder him over 900 years ago by the time the series had started! This would mean that Kuruk lived for a very long time. Avatar Kyoshi was then born over 500 years later, 300 years before Aang was born. That means that Kuruk was probably well over 500-years-old when he died - that is at least half a millennium! (I know that it says that Kuruk lived to be only 33-years-old on the Avatar Wikia, but I think that that is utterly ridiculous and the only reason why that happened was that the creators changed the timeline after it had already been EXPLICITLY stated in an episode that Kuruk was alive eight or nine centuries before the end of the Great War.) Kyoshi lives for 230 years and then, Avatar Roku and Sozin were born on the same day in 82 BG (Before Genocide). Roku dies 12 years before the Air Nomads Genocide, so at 12 BG - meaning that he was 70-years-old and VERY young for an Avatar - and then Aang is born.**

**Fire Lord Azulon is born the year of the Air Nomads' Genocide while Aang is in the Iceberg and Fire Lord Sozin then kills off the Air Nomads at 0 BG/AG. Sozin searches for the remainder of his long life hunting for the Avatar and apparently, felt regret at what he had done to Roku in his final years.** _**"As I feel my own life dimming, I can't help but think of a time when everything was so much brighter."** _ **Eventually, Sozin dies and Azulon takes the Dragon's Throne. He died at 93-years-old because Ursa killed him, otherwise, he would have lived a long life like his father. In the** _**Zuko Alone** _ **episode, near the end of it, it is revealed that Fire Lord Azulon only reigned as the Fire Lord for 23 years. That means that Sozin lived to be 153-years-old! I don't think it is that far-fetched at all considering that Pathik was 150-years-old when he was revealed – and is still alive in this story. So powerful benders, indeed, or those with exquisite chi flows like Pathik do live for a lot longer than non-benders!**

****For those who might think that Azula is out of character, I respectfully disagree. In the show, Azula was 15-years-old, a teenager who was raised by a monster - Ozai. She never had the chance to become a true person. That is apparent in the episode,** _**The Beach** _ **in Season Three. Azula is now 23, an adult; she has healed from the abuse that she had suffered in her childhood. Thanks to Aang's work, she has also learned that it is okay to show emotions and say how you feel. For her whole life, Azula had to be a miniature Ozai because it was revealed that she sought her father's love as much as Zuko did, but now she has chosen not to be that person anymore because she doesn't want to be. Deep down, she recognized that she needed to change, and she took the necessary steps to ensure that happened. Azula, when she was younger, felt emotions just like everybody but was forced to ignore them, stuffing them down; it was similar to how Katara dealt with her grief over her mother's death. That is NOT healthy. I believe, based on the evidence in the show, that the reason for Azula's mental breakdown was a result of her continuous use of the 'stuffing down' coping mechanism. Remember, her mother was gone, and as far as Azula ever knew, had abandoned her after murdering her grandfather. Her father was an abusive, tyrannical, monstrous piece of shit who deserved death. Zuko was gone for a long time; he had his banishment, first, but when she gave him everything that he ever wanted, which included his titles, his life back, his father's love, he left her by choice. Iroh never showed any care, in all honesty. I do love Iroh, but he definitely dropped the ball on Azula; he could have kept an eye on her as he did with Zuko, but to be blunt, he was simply too focused on his nephew, who may have reminded him of Lu Ten.**

**Azula will still have a dark edge to her, but she will not be the psychopath/sociopath who many think that she was depicted to be in the show. I've always liked Azula's character but felt that she could have been so much more than what she was. With enough effort and time, I could easily see Azula being like how I have depicted her.**

****The Fire Nation hailed the Dragons as their nation's symbol. It bothered me, that in Canon, Sozin just simply wiped them out because he wanted to. That honestly doesn't make sense, especially, with the Dragons as their symbol of power and strength. So, I made some stuff up that seemed realistic. Based on real human history, animals have been known to destroy crops and thus, food for humans; the mating grounds are real, too.**

****Sokka and Aang finally confront each other! Now, I wanted Sokka to not really understand why Aang felt abandoned because Aang was the one who never visited except for that one time. Eventually, everything all boils down to the fact that none of the Gaang EVER talked about what they would be doing after the Great War. I think that would be the most realistic thing for a bunch of children and teenagers who are so focused on a goal that they lose sight of what will happen afterward. It explains everything perfectly as to how Aang and all of the others were expecting different things to happen; they never thought the same because they never talked about it!**

****Bumi is now the temporary King of Ba Sing Se until his grandson, Bor is fit to take the throne. If you don't remember, at the beginning of the story, it is mentioned that Toph stayed in Omashu for a while. There, she met Bor and the two somehow hit it off. They became lovers and then something happened between them.**

**When Bumi is introduced, Aang never mentioned** **and it is never shown that Bumi was a Prince in the flashbacks. I think that the challenging the heir for the throne is more attuned to the Earth Kingdom's society.**

**I know that Zaofu is a city in** _**Legend of Korra** _ **, but I needed a good city for one of the four Major Cities in the Earth Kingdom. I always thought that it was interesting how there were different Kings in the Earth Kingdom. There was the King of Ba Sing Se - Kuei - and the King of Omashu - Bumi. Surely, there are other Major Cities as the Earth Kingdom is the largest of the nations geographically. I added Zaofu and Chyung so that there would be four Major Cities. Now, Bumi's bloodline will be the ruling families of both Ba Sing Se and Omashu.**

****Zuko and Katara finally express their feelings and agree to take it slow. I decided for them to take it slow because, in this story, Katara hadn't spoken to Zuko in years and as a result, he didn't trust easily with anyone save Aang, Iroh, and Ursa. Plainly, Zuko doesn't trust easy and Katara has been educated on her ignorance and is trying to become better. They've both been hurt greatly and are treading the water, so to speak.**

**So, that's it. Please, leave a review and tell me what you think! I would really appreciate it!**

_**Stay Safe** _   
**ButtonPusher**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate hearing the feedback from you guys!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender**

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For years, he had been stuck - no, trapped - in the watery-grave that the damned Ocean Spirit had vanquished him to. Because of those fucking boys, the Avatar and the pathetic failure, he had been humiliated during what was supposed to have been his crowning achievement.

Zhao the Moon Slayer! Zhao the Invincible! Zhao the Conqueror! Instead, those grand titles were stolen from him by the Avatar!

Legends would have been told for countless generations of his magnificence, of his power that was great enough to slay the Moon Spirit itself. He had permanently darkened the Moon, thus achieving something that would have placed him on the same pedestal as the most-esteemed Fire Lord Sozin, giving his Noble House more power; he was to be married into the Fire Royal Family and sire a son, the next Fire Lord after Fire Lord Ozai through Princess Azula. Everything was within his grasp, but then the Dragon of the West, the general who had laid siege to the great city of Ba Sing Se for six-hundred days, the son of the prodigious Fire Lord Azulon, and an heir to Sozin had interfered! That washed-up, tea-loving, traitorous bastard had ruined Zhao's chances to make sure that the damned Moon Spirit had stayed dead, had begun the trek of his downfall; he had stolen his future!

Then when he had dueled the pathetic son of the great Fire Lord Ozai, Zhao had felt the glow of the Moon Spirit shine upon him, condemning him, mocking him. He had known, and he still did, that it was the Avatar who had restored the Moon Spirit! That fucking boy! Then the Ocean had swallowed him whole and Zhao had been stuck in his isolation ever since; it was agony, unrelenting and perpetual.

He would admit that the Ocean Spirit certainly was clever; his prison was something he doubted that anybody would think of, nonetheless construct.

For years _,_  Zhao had been submerged into the darkest, deepest depths of the ocean, forced to die every time Agni's great light set. Then he would miraculously heal once the sun rose and it's great light shone through the murky ocean until it stretched upon his drowned, trapped form, bringing awareness back into his mind. The Ocean Spirit would never let him die, forcing Zhao to endure eternal torment as the world passed him by, dreams of conquest forever stilled by the mighty ocean. Despite being imprisoned in the very ocean itself, whispers had reached his ears of a spirit that all spirits feared, even the Ocean Spirit.

Vaatu.

It was the key to Zhao's freedom! He could finally leave his accursed prison. He had to contact the spirit, but he knew that for Vaatu to release him from his torment, Zhao would need something that the Spirit of Darkness and Chaos desired, and luckily, because of the rumors that had reached his drowned ears, he knew exactly what information would earn him his freedom.

'Vaatu!' He tried calling out but could not, for his voice was permanently fused shut from an unknown force. His crazed, golden eyes smashed shut and Zhao amplified his thoughts of that one word, desperately hoping that the mighty spirit would free him from his suffering. He had no idea how long he continued to call out for Vaatu; it could have been years, probably had been. He had felt himself die and then had been, subsequently, revived countless times only to continue his call to the spirit, using all of his energy for his task; he needed to seek revenge on the boys who had humiliated him on multiple occasions!

Zhao felt the abrupt change as the area around him shifted; cold flooded his soul and darkness surrounded him. He could suddenly breathe for the first time in years and he greedily inhaled as much as he could of the divine substance.

"This is most rare, refreshing really. It's not often that a mortal calls upon my name with such insistence." A voice slithered into his ears as a viper and Zhao shivered at the amount of power those few words contained. It would be a power that would destroy the Avatar! "You probed my curiosity."

He slowly turned around and stared at the being before him in terrified awe. A massive, black form with lines of swirling purple energy coiled through his body in an ancient bearing. Wisps of unholy darkness cascaded off of the spirit in waves and Zhao suddenly bowed as he recognized that he was in the presence of someone above him.

"Mighty Vaatu," he began with utter respect coloring his tone as if he were speaking to Fire Lord Sozin himself. "I have called upon your name with absolute vitality in the hope that you would grant me an audience. I possess knowledge that could potentially be crucial to your agenda."

Zhao kept his eyes on the rough, sandy ocean floor as Vaatu floated closer, the unbearable chill growing more apparent. "What knowledge could a mortal possess that would interest me? I am ancient! You dare?"

"I would like to offer a trade, Mighty Vaatu," Zhao said confidently even though fear had begun to whittle its way into his heart. "It would be of great benefit to you."

A gasp escaped his lips as the pressure intensified and darkness seeped into his heart, "You presume much, mortal _._ Despite the obvious, you have snared my curiosity again for but a mere moment. What is your name, human?"

"My name is Zhao," the former Admiral of the Fire Nation declared proudly. "I am a Child of Fire who was robbed of his crowning achievement- "

Vaatu interrupted him, surprising him as the spirit chuckled, sounding like death incarnate. "So, you are the one who attempted to murder the Moon Spirit; I guess that I shouldn't be so surprised. After all, you are trapped in eternal torment by her brother." The cold that had seeped into his soul intensified and he was fearful that Vaatu had somehow been insulted, but he carried on, refusing to be denied.

"You have heard of me?" Zhao asked, delighted that his legend had, in fact, been spread.

"Of course," the spirit floated closer, darkness stifling. "Your failure to murder the Moon Spirit, that had been thwarted by the Avatar and another, saved you from the Void of Eternity, a place where no one, not even I would dare willingly enter. Only those who perpetrate the death of a Major Spirit, such as one of the Elementals, are condemned to the Void for Eternity." Vaatu's words were ominous and somehow, Zhao felt slightly thankful that the Avatar had somehow saved the Moon Spirit. "Anyways, my patience is beginning to wane. What is it the knowledge that you claim to possess, mortal?"

Zhao swallowed, "In exchange for my freedom from this damned prison of torture, I will tell you the location of the Moon and Ocean Spirits' mortal forms."

Silence reigned as Vaatu's form stared down at him, but Zhao refused to back down for he needed his freedom, needed his vengeance!

"Indeed, this is most interesting," the dark spirit murmured silkily, words echoing throughout the ocean, chasing away potential eavesdroppers. "Besides your desire to be free from your prison designed by the Ocean Spirit, why do you ache to tell me of my kin's location?"

"I need revenge!" Zhao spat out, reminded of how close he had been to greatness only for it to be snuffed out by the Avatar and that pathetic heir to Sozin. "The Avatar humiliated me many times and so did Zuko, that marked fucker! I don't know how long I've been trapped in this damned prison, might Vaatu! For all I know, centuries have passed! They cheated me of my crowning moment, and I want their heads on pikes so that I can spit on them!"

"Here is a counterproposal, Zhao _._ " Vaatu whispered enticingly, "I will free you from your torment and you will join my crusade of vengeance against the Avatar; you would be a great help for you are already familiar with my vessel _._  In exchange, you will give me the knowledge of the location where the mortal forms of the Ocean and the Moon lay hidden. Then you will have your retribution towards the Avatar and Fire Lord Zuko in ways that you cannot even fathom."

Zhao's eyes blazed with hate, the words mocking him. "That pathetic, pile of Dragon shit is Fire Lord?" He screeched, unable to grasp a reality where that traitor sat on the Dragon's Throne.

"You have missed out on much, my friend _._  Over eight years have passed since the end of the Great War. The Avatar defeated the Fire Nation, but a reckoning is coming and Aang will not be able to stop the inevitable - darkness will dominate the Realms!"

Falling to his knees, Zhao knelt before the powerful spirit, "I agree to your terms, Vaatu." The moment when the words left his lips, darkness swallowed him whole and Zhao felt absolute ice begin to form in the very blood in his body, the frigid feel enlightening. Then Zhao felt the glorious feel of grass under his feet and he leaned down, clenching his scarred fists into the lush, green substance.

"Now, the location of the Moon and Ocean, Zhao." Vaatu hissed and the hair on the back of Zhao's wet neck rose erect. "I released you from your prison, and I can just as easily return you to it."

Zhao nodded, knowing that it was the truth. "In the Northern Water Tribe, there is a place called the 'Spirit Oasis,'" he noticed that Vaatu seemed to freeze at that information, but he continued. "The Spirit Oasis has been declared sacred by the Waterbenders, none willing to ever enter save for their Royal Family of peasants. In the center of the Spirit Oasis, in a pond of Spirit Water, the Moon and Ocean circle each other in an eternal dance; their mortal forms are Koi Fish, one black and the other white."

"And, pray tell, where did you learn this information, Zhao?"

He looked up at his savior, "In a desert, in the Earth Kingdom, there was an enormous library filled with knowledge. There, I learned of- "

Vaatu interrupted him, understanding inflicting his voice, "Ahh… He-Who-Knows-10,000-Things. You see, Zhao, you are exactly what I have needed. Come, let me reunite you with a… familiar face."

Foreboding hissed in his ears, but Zhao grinned as he was swallowed by shadows once more, and when the darkness faded, Zhao felt his features widen in disbelief. There, right before him, Fire Lord Ozai narrowed his gaze onto him.

He felt the reflex to bow, "Fire Lord Ozai!" He exclaimed in shock.

Before Zhao could react, with speed that was envious of an Airbender, Fire Lord Ozai rushed forward with only one arm -  _ho_ _w could the powerful Fire Lord Ozai lose an arm?_  - and gripped his neck with unrelenting strength. Without a wince of effort, Fire Lord Ozai hoisted Zhao in the air, squeezing his throat tightly, cutting off his air.

"You dare?" Golden eyes burned with fierce power, freezing him even though he couldn't move to begin with. "I should rip your head from your shoulders! You have the gall to show yourself before me after your colossal failure? Because of you _,_  the Avatar," he spat with such hatred that Zhao cowered in place. "That stupid monk-child was able to defeat me during Sozin's Comet, the Waterbenders still exist, and my worthless and treacherous son sits on the Dragon's Throne all because of your incompetence!"

Zhao gasped, trying to breathe, but wasn't able to. He glanced at Vaatu, who remained an amused bystander. "My liege," he choked out, vision dimming as the furious eyes of Fire Lord Ozai crucified him.

"That's enough, Ozai." Vaatu murmured and after several seconds, Fire Lord Ozai dropped Zhao, who fell to his knees in a heap of exhaustion. "Your former Admiral sought me out, and offered the most valuable information we need in exchange for his release from his prison."

"And what information, pray do tell, did you offer him, Zhao?"

He couldn't answer for he was still sucking in precious oxygen so Vaatu did, instead. "We have searched for the Ocean and Moon Spirits for some time now, Ozai. Thanks to Zhao, we now know where they are. Soon, Water will become ingrained in our arsenal of power."

Fire Lord Ozai's golden eyes darted towards Vaatu, "Where are they?"

"The Northern Water Tribe."

"What? I thought that you- "

"I know what I said!" A frigid cold began to encompass the area, "The letter that we intercepted from the Avatar said was something about the 'Spirit Oasis' and how the North must be cautious. It made no mention of the Ocean and Moon Spirits, Ozai. Now we can begin to build a force to invade the Northern Water Tribe, corrupting them to join our legions."

Zhao watched as fire bloomed across Fire Lord Ozai's lone hand, crackling flames echoed through the area. "Good, that's good," he turned towards Zhao and tilted his head, eyes alight with a dangerous glow. "Zhao, it is a... pleasure to be in the presence of an old friend. I will be Vaatu's vessel, his own Avatar and I will acquire the elements just as that monk-child. Now, from this moment forward, you will never use my titles or name." Zhao's eyebrows furrowed in bemusement and shock. He was about to question, but Fire Lord Ozai nodded, "We have a powerful Waterbender as our ally who seeks to destroy one of the Avatar's companions. She has an intense hatred for the Children of Fire; she knows me as 'Piandao' - a shunned non-bender born to Nobles in the Fire Nation, and was, subsequently, abandoned. Yes, I stole the name from the swordsman after I murdered him. Her name is Hama and she is healing my injuries." He gestured to his missing arm and Zhao stared at it, unable to envision a scenario where Fire Lord Ozai was maimed. "With her help, I will be whole once again. Also, Chin the Conqueror's bloodline has allied with us in hopes of destroying the Avatar _._  Their leader, Chin V will aid me in my training over the Earth. Once our army is united, thousands of disgruntled benders and non-benders will descend upon the Avatar and my treacherous son, with us leading the charge. _"_  Fire Lord Ozai's golden eyes moved like flames, dancing in the dim light, igniting Zhao's heart with fire itself. "Our legions will be so vast, they will drink the rivers dry. So massive, they will shake the ground with their very march! Do you understand what I am saying, Zhao?"

After several moments of processing the information his Fire Lord had revealed to him, Zhao licked his lips and nodded. "Of course, my lie- Piandao," he corrected swiftly. "May I ask about Princess Azula- "

"Don't say that whore's name!"

"Why? What happened?"

"The Avatar is what happened, that elusive and clever bastard. He seduced my daughter and she fucked him, spreading her legs like a common whore."

"I had never imagined that your daughter would succumb to such weakness," he said in shock, feeling his own rage enlarge even further. How dare the Avatar steal his future wife, his ticket into the Fire Royal Bloodline? His son through her was supposed to become the Fire Lord after Fire Lord Ozai's death!

"Yes, so to rectify the error of her disappointing existence, I killed her. There is no way that she survived my attack. Not even the Avatar himself could have escaped death from my unleashed lightning!"

Zhao felt a brief moment of grief hit him because now there was no way for him to be integrated into Sozin's bloodline. He felt it wash away after several moments and he looked at his once-to-be-wife's father. "I wouldn't have wanted to wed such a whore anyway, Piandao. You clearly did the right thing in snuffing her out."

Fire Lord Ozai chuckled darkly, "Good, good, good. Your mind is still as sharp as ever, my friend. Things are coming together nicely. Soon, the Avatar will know true agony as I extinguish the light in all of the ones who he holds dear, plunging my flame-coated fist through his heart." Zhao stared at Vaatu as Fire Lord Ozai continued. "Once Vaatu and I are fully bonded, the world will be under our heel _._ "

Zhao grinned in bloodlust, savoring the thought of watching that boy die for all of his slights against him. He couldn't wait until he could bear witness as life fled the depths of the Avatar's gray eyes; they would be clouded with anguish, expression permanently immortalized in fear.

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A large, bubbling, circular river of lava surrounded a figure, the stifling pressure of heat dancing in harmony with the foreign-languaged chants of the man. He wore dark green garments that bonded with the soil as his knees knelt in the earth. Just beyond the figure, immortalized in the rock, was a beautiful statue of a grandiose man; the massive statue was a powerful sight that reminded those who had the honor to gaze upon it of the strength of the Children of Earth, of their resiliency.

He was not to be disturbed by anyone, it didn't matter who it was - the time to honor him had arrived.

The figure stopped his chanting in a foreign tongue and gazed up, his dark eyes connecting with his ancestor's, and his words were understandable. "The Avatar has no idea what is coming, sire. For too long, we have been forcefully forgotten by the world. Soon, with the aid of Vaatu and Piandao, the Children of Chin will dominate over the Earth Kingdom as you had intended before that bitch interfered." Chin V stood up, vibrant green garbs shrouding his body from all. "Nobody truly knows what happened, sire. Myths have taken the place of the brilliant and blood-soaked truth _._  You were unifying the Earth Kingdom, bringing it all together under your reign. The Fire Lord would no longer have been the most powerful of the political leaders; a new contender would have arisen and challenged him." Chin V bowed in absolute awe and respect, "I will make sure that, as your heir apparent, our people will be able to bear witness to your magnificent, beautiful vision, sire, I promise you." He rose once again, green garbs blinding under the light of the streams of lava. With a twitch of Chin's hand, the earth rumbled and the fiery lava vanished as if it were never there.

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"I'm afraid, Aang, so terribly afraid," Bumi whispered, eyes showcasing his age. Aang had never seen his old friend, from either before the Great War or during the conflict, seem so morose. "The entire Order of the White Lotus has been slaughtered. Our legions were vast and yet, they were inconsequential to the enemy. Whoever was able to hunt down and kill our members was a supreme agent for Evil himself, Aang." Bumi's lopsided eyes stared at Aang with urgency, "I've felt it, all of the myths soaked in blood that I've heard from a scarce number of reports have painted our enemy as a brilliant, death-worshipping monster!"

"Bumi," he gripped his oldest friend's hands. "I'm sorry that I haven't been able to reveal the truth to you, but now, I believe, is the opportune moment." He told him everything that he had learned, "Ozai is our enemy once again, and this time, he has power on his side." Aang concluded, "Sozin's Comet was irrelevant compared to what is coming."

Bumi leaned back, speechless, fingers pressed against his parted lips. He stood up, standing next to the window that overlooked Ba Sing Se's Upper Ring. "Well, at least we know the face of our phantomic and elusive enemy; for too long, I've been jumping at shadows, old friend." His friend turned around, eyes tired, and he swallowed, old eyes shining with tears. "After you were gone, I readily joined the fight against those of Fire. I eventually became King of Omashu and I was consumed with hate and grief _._  The Fire Nation had stolen my best friend from this life and, more than anything, I yearned for gruesome, blood-filled retribution. I had never imagined that the Great War would last as long as it did; an entire century of death ravaged this world. The Fire Nation had a dozen years and more to prepare their crusade as you were still only a child, unaware of your destiny." Bumi sighed, collapsing back into his chair, "Roku's death shocked the nations - I can still remember my father discussing it most often in my childhood. Nobody was prepared for his passing; Avatars lived for a long time, usually longer than the strongest benders in history, for entire generations as children's children's children all knew the same Avatar. The Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom, as a result, weren't able to keep pace with the Children of Fire. Eventually, I saw the inevitable. The Great War would continue as long as the Avatar ceased to exist."

"I'm sorry," Aang whispered, hearing the raw pain in his oldest friend's voice, "I was frozen in ice, ignorant of how my absence affected the world, the world that I was supposed to preserve."

Bumi smiled, eyes full of sorrow, "It's in the past, Aang. The events that happened were the best events in an impossible situation. Nevertheless, I was unable to determine if the Avatar hadn't perished indefinitely from Sozin's Comet. Several decades into the Great War, Fire was heads and shoulders above Water and Earth. So, as a result, I met with advisors, the Earth Sages to be exact, to discuss and clarify fully how bending is passed on because I had a plan. They had all assured me that the bending arts weren't passed through blood, but decided by the Spirits themselves." Bumi held up a finger, wagging it in the air. "But I disrespectfully denied their declaration, calling it a bunch of Badgermole shit! You see, I had theorized that bending was directly passed through blood, through someone's parents. If it was decided by the Spirits, why isn't a Firebender born to non-bending Nobles in Ba Sing Se? Instead, the non-bending Nobles always sire an Earthbender. The Air Nomads were all Airbenders, quite astonishing actually, and no record of a non-bender ever existing in the Air Nomads has ever been found. Even the Order of the White Lotus claims that it to be so! Now whether that is because of a nefarious plot to keep the Air bloodlines pure with benders by killing all of the non-benders or because they were, indeed, all benders, nobody knows except maybe you, Aang, but it further expanded my claim that bending was inherited through the blood."

"It was a nefarious plot," he interrupted softly, sadly. "My people weren't as they had seemed at the end; they had fallen far."

"I had suspected but never wanted to... speak of it without certainty."

Aang swallowed, "You were saying?"

"The Sages were furious with me." Bumi chuckled and Aang was relieved to see that spark back in his oldest friend's eyes, "Despite their objections, I implemented my risky plan. Since I believed that bending was gained through one's parents, I wanted to sire strong earthbending children who would help me and the rest of the world defeat those of Fire."

He had to admit that Bumi's idea had merit; he had just never suspected that his old friend would try to do such a thing. "I'm assuming that the Sages were livid, yes?"

Bumi nodded, "More than you could imagine, but we did eventually come to a compromise. I was the strongest Earthbender in the world - and I still am - and the Sages had smartly recognized that. Despite never admitting it, they knew that I was right in my plan to sire children in hopes that they would be strong Earthbenders like me. Eventually, they agreed to bless my plan only if they were able to choose all of the women who would bear my children."

"Wait," Aang leaned forward, elbows crossing over the edges of the chair. "You sired children through multiple women?" He asked in disbelief. "That's only something that I've heard of - from all of the Sages, no less - in regard to me bringing back the Air Nomads!"

"Yes," Bumi held up a hand, halting Aang from interrupting. "It was because it was an experiment _._  Although I was certain in my beliefs, just as the Sages were for their own, none of us truly knew if we were correct. Frankly, we were all desperate to begin a comeback against the Children of Fire, so it was for the best that I did the experiment. So, I mated with four women: one non-bender with an extensive lineage of non-benders, a non-bender whose parents were Earthbenders, an Earthbender whose parents were non-benders, and a strong Earthbender from a notorious line of Earthbenders."

"What happened?"

Bumi leaned back, old eyes staring into the gray of Aang's. "All four became pregnant almost immediately," he gave Aang a lascivious wink, hinting at how much fun he had had. "When the children were born, the Sages and I found out the results. I sired three daughters and one son. The woman from a family of non-benders, who was a non-bender herself, gave me an Earthbender - a daughter." Bumi said, lopsided eyes gazing into the past, "The non-bending woman whose parents were Earthbenders bore me a non-bender - a daughter. The Earthbender whose parents were non-benders sired me an Earthbender - a daughter who was stillborn, but she had been wrapped in the Earth's energy. And, finally, the Earthbender from a family of Earthbenders sired me an Earthbender - a son."

Aang leaned back in his chair, "I'm sorry about your daughter who didn't make it, old friend. I can't imagine what that must have been like to lose your child."

A single tear slipped out of Bumi's eyes. "It was rough for the first couple of months, but, with time, and the help of my other kids, I healed. Her name was Ekta."

Silence.

"So, you and the Sages had to concede that bending was gained through both blood and the Spirits' machinations. You yourself come from a lineage of strong Earthbenders, you've said as much, so that somewhat explains your first daughter you mentioned if the Sages still doubted your claims. What else happened?"

"I was King and was proud to be the father of two strong children."

"Wait, what?" Aang asked because, surely _,_  he had misheard Bumi, "What do you mean by only two children, Bumi?"

The regent ruler of Ba Sing Se sighed tiredly, rubbing his forehead gingerly. "I was King, Aang, and I was gifted three living, beautiful children, two of whom were Earthbenders. The non-bender would have never been able to protect herself in case of an attack against the palace that I couldn't protect her from. I knew that the best thing for her was to be away from the palace, away from me… where she could die."

Aang's eyes became enlightened. "So she was adopted," he concluded sadly, witnessing the pain in his friend's eyes.

"Her name was Avani, and yes, you know the custom."

Aang did know the custom, "Yeah, it is rare for a non-bending child to be kept by its bending parents, especially during a time of war. Often times, the non-bending children are adopted, like Piandao from the Order of the White Lotus and your daughter, into another family that matches their certain skills more so than their birth family did. That way, people can receive successors more fitted for their profession." Aang suddenly glanced up, startled, "Wait, what happened to the mother? And how did you know what skills your daughter would have? She was just born."

"The mother was a harlot, a very beautiful one who wanted nothing to do with Avani."

"I'm having difficulty grasping that piece of information, old friend," he shook his head in disbelief. "The Sages, the most spiritual humans in the world, chose a… a whore to bear your child?"

"Not exactly, Aang," his friend chuckled. "The Sages rounded up the most spiritual women in Omashu and they were presented to me. The harlot was among them, strikingly attractive. The Sages then told me to choose and I did - boy, I made some beautiful children thanks to the women's contributions in the looks department." Aang nodded in understanding. From what he remembered, and hadn't realized since he had still been a naive child, Bumi had always had a certain weakness for the temptations of the human flesh for beautiful women. Even though Bumi had been only a few years older than him, Aang couldn't remember a time when his oldest friend hadn't had a story to share about a 'date' that he had had with a female. "To answer your second question, Aang, I had been gifted a vision in my dreams. I glimpsed a place, a time where and when Avani was happy _._  I followed my instincts and gave her to a nice family near the outskirts of the city."

"Did you keep in contact?"

"No, it was too risky. I never even got to have a conversation with her - she died of a virus when she was a teenager." Bumi said flatly, but the pain behind his lopsided eyes was real _._  "All I saw was her corpse."

Aang closed his eyes, "I'm sorry, old friend," he murmured, watching solemnly as Bumi's eyes glazed over, reliving tragedies. He didn't want that to happen; he knew how easy it was to become consumed by memories. "What about Anju's mother? What happened?"

Bumi blinked, "She died of childbed fever giving birth to Anju; she was older when she gave birth, a lot older. Her husband was killed in the Great War during her pregnancy and... and I believe that she was so distraught that she refused to fight the fever after Anju's birth."

"I can't imagine losing a child of your body," he consoled and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"Bor's father, my son, Sheil _,_ " Bumi began in a daze. "He was strong in the bending arts, and I firmly believe that he would have rivaled me _._  He was ambitious, seeking to destroy the Children of Fire like his father before him. He sired Bor through a beautiful harlot just as I had with Avani; like father like son, I suppose." Bumi said without any amusement, eyes hazy in remembrance. "When Bor was still just a child, Sheil approached me with a plan to unite Omashu and Ba Sing Se, unifying the Earth to ward off Agni's Children. I agreed and within weeks, Sheil and I, with a squadron of soldiers, began the journey to the impenetrable city to propose the plan." He paused and Aang leaned forward in concern.

He gently placed his hand over Bumi's, "You don't have to tell me, old friend."

Bumi didn't seem to hear him, though, thin lips trembling with emotion. "Several days into our travels, we set up a camp; there were no warnings. Nothing seemed off. My platoon of soldiers sensed nothing and neither had I, and just when I was ready to rest, we were ambushed in a deadly attack. Through the foliage of complete darkness, men appeared and danced through our attacks, disappearing through the ground like smoke and reappearing behind my soldiers, snapping their necks like twigs. There were only four attackers in total and while I had well over a dozen soldiers, they were… insignificant in the grand scheme. I had managed to kill two of them while Sheil had killed one, but as a result, my son had become distracted." Aang closed his eyes in sorrow, understanding what had happened before his friend could finish. "I watched as my son and heir, my pride and joy, was murdered before my eyes, and I was helpless to prevent it," Bumi said softly, green eyes welled with thick tears. "The remaining man swiftly slaughtered the rest of my guards and I attacked him in rage. To my shock, the man was powerful in the bending art for Earth; we went toe-to-toe until I managed to injure him, scarcely slashing his face with several daggers of solid stone. Then, the man screamed, sounding more animal than human, and unleashed a powerful wave of lava - yes, Aang, lava - that swept me off my feet. Never before had I ever encountered, or even heard of, lavabending, but this man proved that it does, in fact, exist. I barely managed to survive, but not without injury." Bumi gestured to his thighs, "The lava scorched my skin, maiming me; it's difficult to walk. That's why I walk like I'm twice my age. I should walk around completely fine, but the lava took that from me. By focusing on my chi, I can alleviate the pain during duels and battles, but it doesn't last for long. The healers were amazed that I could walk at all and that I hadn't died from the pain." Bumi sighed, gently rubbing his coated thighs, "Anyway, the man disappeared into the darkness, but not before I fully saw… saw his face. Dead-looking and dark eyes connected with mine for only a second, but it was enough. I will never forget those eyes, Aang, or that face _._ "

Silent tears spilled down Aang's cheeks as his oldest friend confessed his trauma. "Bumi, I'm so sorry," he whispered and pulled him into a fierce hug, gripping the elder Earthbender with everything that he had, knowing that he would need to find answers about 'lavabending' later, but right now, his friend needed him.

XxXxXxXxXxX

For many days, Toph had avoided any and all confrontations with the Gaang save for war-like meetings; she couldn't face the questions and advice that she knew they would undoubtedly spew. They didn't understand and they wouldn't be able to in spite of their best efforts.

Yes, she loved Bor.

When she had visited Omashu after the Great War, Toph had never imagined that she would stay in the Major City for years. In fact, the only reason why she had journeyed there in the first place was so that she could finally take King Bumi up on his offer of a match to see who the strongest Earthbender in the world truly was.

Toph had lost quite badly.

She had been in disbelief, fury bubbling inside her, and with every match that they had battled, the results had been the exact same: every time, King Bumi would end up defeating her in grandiose fashion after an intense back and forth between the two strong Earthbenders.

It had boiled Toph's blood and she had desperately sought to beat the old King. For months, she had trained and trained, actually trained as she had never had the need to do so before, evolving her form and stance until her bones splintered, and during those sessions, she had met Bor. He had been obviously prideful of his bending abilities from his bloodline, showing her his great strength and it was obvious to her then, at 16-years-old, that Bor was attracted to her.

Toph had had no idea how she looked - she still didn't - and it was strange to know that someone had found her physical appearance appealing. During the Great War, she had been smitten with Sokka. She had found that his personality was as likable as it was annoying and he had a bluntness that was refreshing to Toph, who had been used to the pretentious Nobles who she had been stuck with because her parents had always loved to invite them to the estate, forever conversing dramatically about everything _._

During the training sessions, she had felt something inside her shift, locking into place, and she had become accustomed to Bor and found that she enjoyed his presence. Although his endless questions about the Avatar were tedious, she found his almost childlike awe about Aang endearing. She hadn't known how he looked. For all she had known, he might have been the ugliest human to ever exist, but based on the gossip that the servant girls had whispered about incessantly, Bor was incredibly handsome.

She hadn't liked the feeling in her stomach that she had felt whenever she heard those maids talking about Bor.

After an initially rocky start, Toph had begun spending every and all of her days with the Prince of Omashu, the heir to King Bumi. She had liked listening to his voice, the steady, deep timbre that, when it resonated in her ears, soothed her, brought her peace _._  With her feet, whenever she had known that no one was watching, she had seized her chance, focusing on his body's vibrations and they had felt like a lifeline to her drowning, lonely form.

She had been used to being alone.

Immediately following Zuko's coronation, she had stayed at the Caldera in the Fire Nation, trying to avoid the decision that she knew she had had to make: should she go back home and should she give her parents another chance, or should she stick with Aang and travel the world? Eventually, after several weeks at the Caldera, she had journeyed back to Gaoling, nervousness wafting off her usual confident body. When she had finally arrived at the place of her birth, she had silently felt the stalls and shops' vibrations with her feet, the familiar echoes soothing for they were the same as they had always been when she had snuck out to participate in Earth Rumble VI.

Then, she had arrived at her parents' home, the Beifong estate, a place where many of her memories rested, both good and bad. She had timidly - hating the fact that she had felt like a shell of herself but she had needed to visit her parents, needed to have the closure - stepped into the guards' line of sight and pulled down the hood that had covered most of her features. She had felt their shock, their disbelief at the sight of their employers long, lost daughter. They had rushed forward, pulling her into the house, and Toph was subsequently reunited with her parents. It was a very dramatic and emotional reunion from her parents' side just as Toph had always known that it would be, but she had dutifully hugged them back as her mother's tears soaked her shoulders and hair. After explaining her purpose for visiting, Toph had allowed the hurt and bitter anger to surface, showing her parents just how painful it had been to live under them, under their dainty heels for so long.

To what had used to have been her utter shame, tears had spilled down her pale cheeks as Toph berated her parents for their treatment of their only child, locking her away like a petite trophy that was made of glass. She had recalled everything: when Toph had revealed the truth and shown her parents the prodigious earthbending talents that she possessed, they had refused to change. As a result, she had been forced to take desperate measures and to train Aang in earthbending, to be a key member of the Gaang who saved the world, Toph had run away from her home, from the only family that she had had since she could remember. To her utter relief, the Gaang had become her new family, replacing the tattered one that she had been born into. Then, in Ba Sing Se, Toph was captured by Xin Fu and Master Yu on orders from her parents; she had a bounty to be captured alive on her head that was placed there by her own parents! Toph had let her contempt for her parents' actions echo through the main foyer, shaming them with her words of scorn. She had laid down an ultimatum: her parents could either treat Toph like the capable person, one of the heroes of the Great War, who she was, or she would leave and her parents would never hear from her again.

She had been able to feel the anger carved into her parents' faces, but, ultimately, they had relented to her demands, but it hadn't lasted.

At first, everything had seemed better because, for the first years, Toph had appreciated the efforts that her parents had made to accept her. By the time when she was a little over fourteen, Toph had thought that her parents had finally accepted her for who she truly was, but she had been arrogant - she had been wrong.

Eventually, her parents had started demanding that she act more like a lady and began to inquire around the Earth Kingdom for a worthy young man who would be a suitable match for Toph. Yet despite her blatant refusal of an arranged marriage, her parents had ignored her and retorted that she would understand when she was older, angrily chiding her, fiercely declaring that she would never understand if she continued to act like the nuisance who she had been since returning from the Great War.

Toph had then realized that they were the ones who would never understand and change. So, during the dead of night, with many vast pools of gold that she had stolen from her parents and a broken heart, Toph had run away from her parents once again, knowing that, deep down, she would never return.

For the first time in her life, Toph had been truly alone and she had had no one who she could turn to for help. She hadn't been able to go to the Southern Water Tribe where Sokka and Katara and Suki were because it was cold and she wouldn't be able to see. And she hadn't wanted to stay in a stuffy palace in the Fire Nation because it would have reminded her of her parents. She had had no idea where Aang was, and since she hadn't been able to find a messenger or a hawk to deliver a message to him, she hadn't been able to get in touch with him even though she had really wanted to. She had had no way of knowing where he would be, though. When she had traveled through various towns, news had reached her eyes of the Avatar's great benevolence as he flew from town to town to help the Earth Kingdom rebuild. Feeling hope blossom in her heart, she had tried to track him down for weeks, but she had eventually stopped even though she could have kept going and sent messages in the hope of finding him. She hadn't known whether to continue or quit, but the knowledge that Aang could have been anywhere in either of the Realms helped her make her decision.

She had been relieved.

Her and Aang hadn't spoken in the years since Sparky's coronation; she never wanted to feel the realization that they were too different to get along because they had both changed from the people who they once were.

Toph had been alone, feeling more lonely than she thought possible, and she had stumbled through many Earth Kingdom towns for months, fending off bandits and rapists who had desired her young body. There had been a couple of close calls with stronger men, but Toph had, with hardly an ounce of guilt, killed the men with her earthbending, leaving their corpses to rot in the dirt.

With a weary heart, after over a year of travel, Toph had arrived at the great city of Omashu.

Bor had filled the void that was left oozing after her parents' rejection of her true self, and through much time and conversation, she had grown to care about him in ways that she had never cared for another person. He had made her feel safe and protected. Even though she hadn't needed anyone to help her feel that way, it had felt... nice to allow someone to become an integral person in her life.

Eventually, after over a year of laughs and conversations, they had become lovers.

She had known for some time that she was attracted to the Prince of Omashu, had known that her feelings for Bor were far stronger and different than what she had felt for Sokka during the Great War; her heart's emotions for the Prince were intense and stole her breath with its unrelenting force. One day, during a sparring session, Bor had landed on top of her. His muscular chest had been pressed against her breasts and Toph felt both of their heartbeats racing with emotions. Without realizing what she had been doing, Toph had leaned up and tentatively pressed her lips to Bor's.

She had immediately pulled back ashamed, heat rushing to her face, and she had hastily tried to apologize, aching for the earth to swallow her whole from the complete embarrassment that she had felt. To her shock and pleasure, Bor had swiftly silenced her with a passionate kiss, stealing the breath from her lungs; his mouth had been everywhere, hot and heavy, and Toph had never wanted him to stop.

At that moment, she had felt his manhood straining against his pants, pressing into her center, and the thought of her parents witnessing what she had been doing had spurred her on, urging her to take equal part in the lust-and-thrust. In the Royal Palace of Omashu, in the dirt-coated Arena where anybody could have stumbled upon them, Toph and Bor had made love for the first time. After that moment, for the next years, Toph hadn't been afraid to know that she was in love with the grandson of King Bumi.

It wasn't until several weeks before Sparky's letter had arrived when it had happened.

Bor, who was several years older than her, around Sokka's age, had begun questioning her about children and marriage, and Toph had always avoided the questions, innocently trying to change the subject. Bor had easily seen through her attempts and relented to her unspoken pleas until he no longer could. He was stubborn like the Earth, but Toph was as well:

_She stared into the darkness as her blind eyes connected with her lover's. Through her feet, she could see everything around them, felt the agitation vibrating through Bor's body._

" _I don't want to talk about this," she tried to walk around him, but a grip of pure iron wrapped around her arm, keeping from leaving._

" _You've been avoiding this for months, Toph!" The pure desperation poisoning Bor's tone echoed in her heart._

_She closed her eyes, knowing that nothing good would come of the conversation. "All right, fine, let's hear your speech, Bor," she relented tiredly. "Make it quick."_

" _Thank you," he stood taller and his voice grew softer. "I know that this is hard for you, but in the long run, you'll thank me." He gripped her hands, his larger ones softly wrapping around her petite ones. "I'm 23-years-old and the Prince to my grandfather's throne. As you already know, my father was killed when I was just a small boy and it's been only me, Anju, and grandfather ever since. Certain 'rules' are required of me because of this. Although the Earth Kingdom is much less rooted in tradition than the Fire Nation, there are still expectations for those of Royal Blood."_

" _To continue the bloodline, siring children and bastards as soon as possible because life is unpredictable," Toph said flatly, having heard the same spiel from her parents growing up. "I'm aware of these 'rules,' Bor."_

_She felt Bor nod, "Benders, from what my grandfather has often said, can live for a long time. He is a perfect example of his claims: well over a century old and in great health except for his legs. But there is history throughout the world of Royal Bloodlines dying out because no heirs had been born; the family tree had withered, and the history of those lines will only ever be remembered by scholars."_

" _What are you trying to say, Bor?" Toph demanded, "Are you being pressured to marry? Is King Bumi wanting you to sire heirs? Is that his way of thanking me for teaching him metalbending - he is gifting me the opportunity to marry a Prince? And let me guess, if those are true, you want me to be the answer to those problems?"_

_Bor hesitated, "My grandfather feels that something is coming, something that would wage war across the Four Nations once again. He has mentioned, several times, of the need for our family to be secure. He also remarked that a marriage with you would be incredible, almost unprecedented. I am a powerful Earthbender, with the blood of my grandfather running in my veins, and you, Toph, are exceptional, almost rivaling my grandfather in sheer strength over the Earth. Our union would become the foundations of a powerful bloodline that, in several or so generations, could potentially rival the Fire Royal Bloodline, the line of… Sozin."_

_Toph pulled her hands out of Bor's, crossing her arms over her chest, "So, this is all just because King Bumi wants you to?"_

" _No!" Bor shook his head rapidly, "I love you, and think that you are the strongest person who I've ever met. It's just… you've never mentioned anything about this. Lately, I've been... imagining what a union between us would be like. I don't think that anything would change in our lives except if - or when - we produced children. We already live together and, in my grandfather's words, bitch like a fucking married couple. I don't see how things would change." Bor tried to reach out but Toph leaned back, "You're everything to me, Toph. I mean, all my life I had always thought that I would be cursed to sire my children through a harlot like my grandfather and my father before me, but then you arrived and opened up a whole new realm of possibilities. You made me fall in love with you. Now, growing into a future King and leader, it doesn't seem so daunting knowing that I'd have you by my side, supporting me. I could have amazing children with you, Toph. Our children would be extraordinary. Can't you imagine it?"_

_She could imagine it and what she saw wasn't what Bor had obviously envisioned. Instead, she saw herself trapped in a cage just as she had been with her parents, chained and reliant on someone. Worst of all, she saw herself as being a terrible mother, mimicking her own parents, and she saw her own children hating her like Toph hated her parents. Simply put, she saw a nightmare beyond any other; it was terrifying._

_She swallowed, taking another step back. "I don't want to bear your children," she whispered. "I... I don't want to marry you."_

_Bor stumbled back as if struck, shock vibrating through his body, "No, you don't mean that, Toph."_

_Toph's fists clenched; she wasn't even sure if he was correct because her emotions were in such chaos. "Yes, I do. I don't want to marry you, Bor. And I sure as fuck don't want to bear your children!" She yelled out, immediately regretting what she had said, but it was too late._

_Bor opened and closed his mouth several times, dismay shaking through him as he licked his lips. "Okay, I understand. Tha- thank you," he murmured, sorrow and pain coloring his voice as he turned around and walked away._

The weeks after that had been rough and when Sparky's letter had arrived, Toph had jumped at the chance to leave Omashu, to leave Bor because she hadn't been able to stand the sheer rift between them any longer, the rift that she had caused. So, wandering through the halls of Ba Sing Se, Toph continued to avoid her former lover, afraid of what he would say to her. Did he still love her as she did him, or did he hate her for breaking his heart as he should?

XxXxXxXxXxX

Katara smiled at the sight of Zuko as he approached her after a war-meeting with the rest of Gaang, King Bumi, and Bor. She had no idea how they were supposed to act around each other since the revelation of their shared feelings, but she was content to, simply, be herself with him. After all, she would wish it no other way, especially if they did actually, somehow, get married.

"Hey, what did you think of Bor's suggestion?" She asked, curious to hear the Fire Lord's answer. She liked Bor and if she wasn't mistaken, the Prince of Ba Sing Se desired Toph for she had noticed that he continually glanced at Toph during his strategic discussion, but Toph had kept her face towards the ground, averting her blind eyes.

Zuko chuckled, golden eyes burning with fire, with life. "It was certainly unconventional, but seemingly effective. It sounded like something that Uncle Iroh would concoct."

Katara nodded, "Speaking of your uncle, how is he? Have you written to him at all?"

"Yes. He's doing great and most deeply laments the fact that ginseng tea isn't the Fire Nation's most popular beverage." Zuko said flatly and Katara had to stifle her laughter, "He's also commissioned, as my regent, a Jasmine Dragon to be constructed at the Palace in the Caldera," he sniffed dramatically.

Katara wasn't able to hold her amusement and laughed loudly. "That sounds exactly like your uncle," she quieted and then frowned after realizing what he had said. "Wait, what did you mean by 'at the Palace in the Caldera' just a moment ago? Are there... multiple Palaces in the Fire Nation?"

Zuko blinked, "I'm sorry, I had thought that you knew, but yes, there are multiple Palaces in the Fire Nation." He hesitated and gripped her hand. "Come, we'll speak where it is more private." Katara smiled up at his handsome face and quickly realized that he was leading them to a garden, the garden where they had agreed to begin their 'relationship' if she could even call it that. "Now, you can ask me anything that you want, Katara." Zuko sat down and Katara followed his lead.

She had to be sure, "Anything?" When he nodded, she blurted out what swirled through her thoughts, "How many Palaces are there in the Fire Nation, then?"

"Well, there are three Palaces, all owned by the Crown. There is the one in the Caldera renamed Sozin by Azulon in honor of you-know-who after he had died, which is where the Fire Lord and his family live; it's the same one that you have visited and been inside. Then, there is the Eastern Fire Torch Palace and the Northern Fire Dragon Palace."

"Why are there so many Palaces?" Katara asked, curious to know information about the Fire Nation other than the Great War.

Zuko seemed surprised but answered dutifully. "Long ago, before the Great War, pestilence would spread across the different territories of the Fire Nation, of the world even. Fire Lord Kazuki, Sozin's grandfather, was particularly petrified of sweating sickness, a deadly epidemic that plagued my nation for many decades. He was also most wary of consumption, an infection that mainly affected the lungs of benders and non-benders alike, both killing many thousands of people. He built the other Palaces so that he could escape from seeming inevitable death, continuously traveling between them for his entire reign, never taking a permanent residence."

"What was sweating sickness?" She questioned in fascination because she had never heard of it. If it had killed so many, why hadn't she ever learned of it?

Zuko chuckled, "It's nearly forgotten in this day and age, but the Fire Royal Family always remembers. Kazuki's elder brother, Takumi died from sweating sickness when Kazuki was only a young teenager, undoubtedly the reason for his phobia. The sweating sickness was a serious detriment to the wellbeing of my people during that time. It came on without any warning and didn't seem preventable. Based on the reports that I was forced to study as a child, people would feel a sudden sense of dread, then be overtaken with headaches, neck pains, intense bouts of fatigue, and a cold sweat that covered the entire body. Fever, heart palpitations, and dehydration soon followed. This is truly staggering: within only a quarter of a day to over a day, almost half of the people afflicted with sweating sickness had been killed."

Katara was deprived of utterance, "I can't even imagine…" she breathed out in horror.

"No, you can't, and neither can I." He smiled slightly, "What else do you have questions about?"

She was thankful to edge away from the morose history of the Fire Nation and asked a question that had been revolving around in her mind for years. "Why are you called the 'Fire Lord' instead of the 'Fire King'?"

Zuko nodded in understanding, "Records show that the Air Nomads had five Elders at each Air Temple who were in charge of their Temple and they each formed High Council - and then all of the High Councils formed the High Council of Elders that decided the Air Nomads way of life and such. The Earth Kingdom has four Kings: Ba Sing Se, Omashu, Zaofu, and Chyung, each with equal power. The Water Tribes have two Chiefs who control each hemisphere's territories and have the same authority throughout their domain. But unlike the other nations, the Fire Nation only has one sovereign whom every Child of Fire obeys, the Fire Lord." He breathed deeply and Katara was prepared for an extensive history lesson. "Only the Fire Royal Family knows the truth of how the Fire Lord came to be, so I implore you not to tell anyone outside of the Gaang, please."

Katara swallowed at the amount of trust that Zuko placed in her. "Very well. I probably won't tell Sokka, then; he tends to blabber."

Zuko laughed quietly, "That's probably a good idea." He sobered and breathed deeply, small flames dancing out of his mouth for a moment. "The Dragon Bone Catacombs, accessible only to the Fire Royal Family and the Supreme Fire Sage, detail records that reveal that the Fire Nation originally formed through a large number of tribes called the Sun Warriors."

"Wait, isn't that where you and Aang had found the last Dragons?"

He smiled, "Yes, I was as shocked as you. From what I've been able to piece together, a single tribe had managed to escape."

"What do you mean by escape, Zuko?"

"Let me explain and then you will understand, Katara." Zuko closed his eyes and seemed to delve into the past, his deep voice lulling Katara into a sense of awe. "The Sun Warriors were led by five Fire Sages for several generations. Eventually, one Sage wanted more and rose above what had been his position. He then convinced his spiritual brothers that they should all be called a 'Fire Lord' because Agni favored them over any of the other Children of Fire, telling them that they were all chosen by the Fire Spirit to fully and truly lead his people in all aspects. The Fire Sages, subsequently, all agreed and for several centuries, each Fire Lord controlled a certain number of Sun Warrior Tribes, divided amongst them evenly, and five new Fire Sages were also chosen and each reported to a certain Fire Lord - they were basically like advisors, but their main duty was spiritual healing. My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Fire Lord Kai, who had just succeeded his father after his demise, desired more power, though. He was already the strongest recorded Firebender at that time, and believed that it was his destiny to lead Agni's Children by his lonesome; he wanted no other Fire Lords to contend with."

"He took over all of the Sun Warrior Tribes, then?" Katara guessed, leaning forward in fascination over the lore that Zuko was sharing.

Zuko shook his head, hair obscuring the view of his beautiful eyes for a second. "Not exactly. You see, Kai's aspirations quickly began to draw attention from the other Fire Lords; he was young and foolish, he hadn't learned the games of monarchs. The records show that for several years, each Fire Lord, with the support of their Sun Warrior Tribes, battled for complete dominion over the Children of Fire. Eventually, Kai, through means unknown - though I suspect that he used blackmail - somehow rallied all of the Fire Sages to join him, betraying the other Fire Lords. Now with the support of all of the Fire Sages, Kai united all of the Sun Warrior Tribes together, creating the Fire Nation."

"That doesn't make sense, though. Why would all of the Sun Warrior Tribes accept Kai? I thought that most of them were loyal to the other Fire Lords?"

"During the countless battles for conquest, much death spread through the Sun Warrior Tribes. Infections mounted and diseases ravaged through the territories. Soon, famines began to affect the tribes. Kai saw his opportunity and exploited it; because of his strong bending, he was unafraid to enter the battlefield against the other Sun Warrior Tribes. As a result, his tribes didn't suffer near as many casualties."

"Yeah, but what about the diseases? What about the famine? That was easily the worst because the sick can't heal without the proper nutrients."

"The Fire Sages, who by then were all loyal to Kai, prayed incessantly to Agni to grant Kai's Sun Warrior Tribes strength to fight. Through many struggles, Kai was able to coerce all of the starving Sun Warrior Tribes to join him, promising to let them return to their Fire Lords once the famine and plagues were over. That was a lie, but soon, nobody knew it. During the process of integrating all of the Sun Warriors together to form the foundations of the Fire Nation, Kai, with the aid of the Fire Sages, secretly murdered every other Fire Lord and their families and inner circles, eradicating their entire bloodlines, erasing them from history. He reported all of their deaths as a result of the plague, declaring that Agni himself was on his side, and nobody questioned it. Kai burned every other Fire Lords' parchments, keeping his deed hidden. Those who did suspect were silenced. Every historian and every scribe who had even uttered the other Fire Lords' names were punished with death. Others had their eyes pulled out and their tongues cut from their mouths to keep the world, to keep the future generations from ever knowing that the other Fire Lords had even existed. Finally, to answer your question, Kai didn't dare hail himself as 'Fire King' because that would have been more than suspicious to the tribes; he would have pretty much openly declared that he was the one who had orchestrated the deaths of the other Fire Lords, and thoughts of rebellion would have run rampant through the unified Fire Nation. Thus, the Fire Lord is the sovereign of the Children of Fire instead of a Fire King."

"That's incredible." Katara breathed out, "I had no idea that the Fire Nation was rooted with such a… bloody backstory. It's kind of frightening, actually."

Zuko winced, "Through much research, I've discovered that the Fire Nation has always been feared since its unification. While the Air Nomads held no political viewpoints and didn't care for war and death and conquest, they didn't fear the Fire Nation at all because of their isolation except for the rare visit. In fact, I have always thought it to be the other way around because fire needs air to exist. But the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes had heard of the Children of Fire's ability to wage war, to spill life's blood and were wary with good reason."

After several seconds of silence, a thought occurred to Katara. "Wait, where was the Avatar during all this? The unification of the Sun Warrior Tribes? I doubt that he or she would have just sat by and allowed such a changing of order to happen _._ "

Zuko nodded, conceding her point. "I believe that the final unification, Kai becoming the lone Fire Lord, occurred during an Avatar's childhood. The Avatar would have been unable to do anything to keep Kai from his ambitions for he or she was ignorant of their own destiny, of their power. It's the only thing that makes sense. I don't know about the first Fire Sages becoming Fire Lords; the Avatar, whoever it was, mustn't have cared and, apparently, didn't do his or her duty."

"Yeah, it does make sense. That's what Fire Lord Sozin did; while Aang was only a child, he built his army... Speaking of Sozin, how is he viewed by your people, your nation?" Katara asked seriously, not sure when she would have another chance.

Zuko raised his one eyebrow. "He was revered by Agni's Children; he always has been and probably always will be. You already know about the song that my mother sang in the cave about him. My people loved Sozin and mourned his passing for many years. By the time of his death, he had been Fire Lord for 128 years. It was hailed as an unspeakable tragedy when Agni had finally claimed his greatest child. The song that my mother sang in the cave is renowned in the Fire Nation by everyone. The last line: ' _Till Sozin wakes again from sleep,'_  is a testament to that. They held unwavering hope that Sozin would return from the Gardens of the Dead to the Mortal Realm and reign eternally over us all as the greatest Fire Lord."

"Really? But what else? He was a monster, though."

"Well, although the citizens adored him, they feared him as well, just as all the ones who dawn the mantle of Fire Lord are feared."

"So, he was the worst Fire Lord in history, then?" She was surprised when he laughed, "What's so funny?"

He quieted, "I'm sorry, that was inconsiderate. To answer your question, no. Sozin always kept the Fire Nation on his mind with his actions. Everything that he had set out to do was to benefit his people. He was beloved more so than you could imagine. There was one Fire Lord, other than my father, though, who was, notoriously, a despotic tyrant to the Children of Fire: Fire Lord Kazuki."

Katara's jaw dropped, "The sweating-sickness-guy?"

"Yes. He was a… peculiar man." Zuko said quietly, "He transformed from a charming young ruler into a monstrous despot. You see, he was obsessed with his passionate and understandable, yet vain desire to father a male heir to the Dragon's Throne. He famously kept a harem of women in the Caldera and each of the Palaces that he had commissioned and bedded them all constantly, spreading his seed. It was estimated in the records that he had sired hundreds of children through these women - all girls and the only sons that he had ever sired were, unfortunately, stillborn or died after a few days of life. It seemed that he was cursed by Agni himself to never beget a son. He never took a wife and brutally executed one of the Noble Houses, snuffing out their entire bloodline, when their Head had recommended it. For decades, Kazuki hadn't been able to produce his desperately sought-after-son." He swallowed and Katara knew that she needed to brace herself for what was coming. "One of the first daughters that he had ever produced, Jyoti was allowed to live; he sent her to an estate outside of the Caldera where she grew up, raised by servants with no contact between father and daughter and people say that it was because Kazuki was fond of his daughter's mother. Kazuki's mercy for any of his children ended there, though; he only wanted a son, and when the harem of women, for the next decades, continued to only bear him females or stillborn sons, he callously killed both mother and the living daughters... each time."

Katara gasped in horror, feeling the urge to vomit and narrowly succeeding in quelling the urge. "Are you serious? That's horrible! I cannot even- …what else happened?"

"His legislation during his reign, inadvertently, killed many thousands, and when the people were stuck in a state of fear and tumult, they say that he ordered executions daily _._ Tens of thousands of people were killed by my ancestor's hand, entire lineages snuffed out because of his bloodthirsty and vile deeds." He breathed deeply, "Eventually, records show that Jyoti was ordered to live at the Caldera after more than five decades since her birth. Nobody has ever deciphered why the Fire Lord, unexpectedly to everyone, invited his unwanted daughter back to his home after so long, for it was well known of his desire for a male heir and his disdain for his female progeny. Then, after a year, Kazuki and his daughter had become… intimate _."_  Zuko shuddered and Katara was little better, _"_ Their union sired two daughters, whom Kazuki narrowly allowed to live - they had intense health problems and died during their early years. Then, the two sired a son, Kohaku, who succeeded where all the other sons had failed. He... lived."

"Was Jyoti executed?" She asked hesitantly.

"No. Jyoti died only weeks after her son's - and... brother's, too - birth from childbirth fever, and the Fire Lord ordered that she be granted an extravagant funeral. Kazuki had finally received the son that he had so desperately yearned for and that son didn't disappoint. He was strong and his bending was unparalleled amongst the peers of his age of the Noble Houses, and some say that Agni came down to beget him instead of Kazuki. That son was Sozin's father. Kazuki reigned for a long time - almost as long as Sozin himself did - and lived to see his grandson born, but he died in his sleep only days after Sozin's birth. Most, if not all, say that it was because Sozin was so pure that upon viewing his grandson, Kazuki's vile nature withered, for the light inside Sozin blinded him, eroding away his defenses, shining a light into the darkest and deepest depths of Kazuki's poisonous heart. He had seen, with his own eyes, the tyrannical monster that he had become, and horrified by the realization, he had simply lost the will to live." Zuko shrugged after a moment, "Actually, the Final Testament of Fire Lord Kohaku revealed that he had murdered his father in his sleep and seized the Dragon's Throne - as was his birthright." Katara was speechless, horror and disgust intermingling within her. Zuko saw her expression and sighed, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shared any of that."

"No, no, don't be ridiculous, Zuko. I asked you. Although... it is gross and sad, I'm happy that you showed me a part of your history. Everyone has dark spots in their family tree, Zuko. Nobody's family is perfect."

"Oh, don't I know it, and that doesn't even begin to, in my opinion, compare to the Cousins' War."

Katara raised her eyebrows, "Another war? When was that and, more importantly, why doesn't the horror that was Fire Lord Kazuki compare to it?"

She saw Zuko close his eyes, "It's a blood-soaked story, Katara, more blood being shed in these events than any other in Fire Nation history - that includes the Sun Warrior battles and Fire Lord Kazuki's reign of terror. As far as the Dragon Bone Catacombs reveal, the Fire Nation had another civil war besides the unification of the Sun Warrior Tribes and Kai being crowned the lone Fire Lord."

"What do you mean? There was another civil war?"

Zuko exhaled slowly, "Yes, but this was worse. Because spanning entire, multiple generations, the Fire Nation was shaken by a power struggle between two rival, noble branches of the Royal House of Agni, the Houses of Ishaners and Vasuman. It was chaos for centuries as the Fire Royal Family plotted the deaths of their kin for several generations, seeking the Dragon's Throne for themselves, for their House."

"But the Avatar!" She exclaimed, "Surely, he or she would have stopped it."

"But that's not what happened, Katara. Do you know who was the Avatar during the Cousins' War?"

"No... Who was it?"

Zuko smiled without mirth. "It was Avatar Kuruk, who many consider the greatest failure of an Avatar - and probably rightly so."

Katara's lips parted, "Kuruk? I know that he was... laid-back, but..."

"He was notorious for it, Katara; my people hated him for it. The only reason why the Cousins' War was allowed to happen was that of Kuruk's idiocy. He was too concerned with fucking and siring bastards in all of the Four Nations; the legends say that many thousands were born from his seed and that every person in the world right now is descended from him."

"How did the Cousins' War start, Zuko?" She demanded, wishing to no longer speak of Kuruk's failings as Avatar; it brought shame to the Water Tribes. "How did it all happen?"

"It all began with the death of Fire Lord Ravi; the seeds were sewn when he had failed to designate his heir. The situation was quite complicated, actually. You see, Fire Lord Ravi's oldest son, the Black Prince had died before his father only a year previously, but the Black Prince's 18-year-old son, Rohit was alive and well. And while it was he who wound up succeeding to the Dragon's Throne after his grandfather's death, it had been ahead of Fire Lord Ravi's three surviving sons, Fire Lord Rohit's own uncles."

Katara's eyes widened in understanding, "That mustn't have gone well for Rohit. Ravi's three surviving sons must have been insulted for they all desired to sit upon the Dragon's Throne, right?"

"Yes," he nodded his head. "While none of them did attempt to take the Dragon's Throne from Fire Lord Rohit, the same couldn't be said for their various offspring because the skipping of an entire generation left lingering claims to the Dragon's Throne, and created far too many Firebenders with Royal Blood in their veins who all had a legitimate claim to be the Fire Lord. In fact, I've heard rumors that Sozin was who killed his other children to keep another potential Cousins' War from occurring; he only allowed his bastard, non-bending daughters and strongest son to live."

"That's horrible," she breathed out but then remembered that it was Fire Lord Sozin. "Is... is that true?"

Zuko sighed, "I highly doubt it, but if it that is somehow true, it wouldn't surprise me."

Katara didn't want to talk about Fire Lord Sozin. "So the Cousins' War began because too many Firebenders had Royal Blood, right?"

"Yes. Two main factions rose in the Noble Houses were part of the Fire Royal Bloodline, the Ishaners and the Vasuman. As you have probably deduced, the name of the war comes from the blood relation between the Ishaners and Vasuman."

"What happened, then?" Katara asked, leaning forward, peering up at Zuko's face. "How was it... worse than Fire Lord Kazuki?"

Zuko looked amused, obviously witnessing her eagerness. "The Ishaners first gained the Dragon's Throne when Fire Lord Rohit was deposed by his cousin, Hideki in a coup that saw blood staining the walls of the palace. Rohit had given up the Dragon's Throne without fuss, hoping to keep his life intact but Hideki, wielding his new power as the Fire Lord, executed his cousin, refusing to show mercy unto his kin and keeping the possibility that Rohit could return with an army to reclaim what was his from happening."

Katara swallowed, "Once again, that's horrible. Did Fire Lord Rohit have... any children? Were they, too, executed?"

"No. Rohit's line ended with him for he didn't have a son, the most important thing for any ruler, no matter the nation. The dynastic succession must continue."

"But you don't have any heir except Azula, Zuko," she pointed, wanting to hear his answer.

"Yes, and the Noble Houses have been bitching about it for years, throwing all of their daughters and sisters - some have even offered their mothers! - at my feet, pressuring me to take one of them as my bride, but I have steadfastly refused. I am the Fire Lord. The Noble Houses, their Heads do not control and they never will - it is the other way around." Katara felt pleased by his words of how he had rejected all of the various women he had encountered. "But if you and they think that I've waited a long time, that's nothing compared to Sozin himself."

"What do you mean?"

"Fire Lord Sozin, since the time when he took the Dragon's Throne, waited over half a century for his son and heir, my grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon. You see, Fire Lord Azulon wasn't born until the year the Great War started when the Air Nomads were... slaughtered by my great-grandfather. It was comparable to Fire Lord Kazuki's ordeal, actually, but Sozin waited because of his Fire Lady's inability to bear him any children besides Lo and Li."

She blinked, digesting all of the shocks from that information. "Well, that is certainly surprising, I must say. I wonder how Sozin held onto the Dragon's Throne for so long without an heir."

"He's Fire Lord Sozin," he snorted. "That's how, Katara."

The assumptions those words brought with them filled her with anxiety, so she returned to the topic of Cousins' War, finding it far more preferable than listening to the exploits of Fire Lord Sozin. "I'm glad that Fire Lord Rohit didn't have any children, then, so that their lives weren't needlessly snuffed out by Hideki."

"Yes," he nodded his head slowly. "The Crown then passed peacefully from Fire Lord Hideki to his son, the most famous Fire Lord before Kazuki appeared, Fire Lord Houka."

"Why was he so famous?"

"You'll see, but you must listen first. Many years into his reign, a rogue group of Air Nomads brought violence down from the sky, the records say, and terrorized the Fire Nation, the wind and air lethal to everyone who wasn't an Airbender. Fire Lord Houka lost many of Agni's Children to these aggressive and violent Air Nomads, and war was declared by him against the Air Temples. He eventually realized that something darker had happened and that it wasn't a random attack. Apparently, a Dragon had eaten one of the rogue Airbenders' Sky Bison, one that he was bonded to." Katara's eyes widened at the words, remembering Aang's rage and grief when Appa had been stolen by the Sandbenders - and then there was what he had done to Kuei after Appa had been killed. "While the Dragon had been killed by another Sky Bison, the damage had been done for several Air Nomad children had been killed, too, during the scuffle. These Airbenders had then forsaken their teachings and desired vengeance and they brought with them the fury of air. Fire Lord Houka eventually managed to kill them, but he made a critical mistake when he murdered one of the Air Nomad Elders when the man had traveled to learn what had happened. Nobody knows why Houka killed him, but we know that it was somehow an accident because of his next actions."

"What were his next actions?"

"Fearful that the Air Nomads would descend down on the Fire Nation in waves of calamity, wiping them out - and he knew that it was a possibility because the rogue group of only a few had killed hundreds - Houka had offered to marry an Air Nomad women to save his people from more destruction. He was a true Fire Lord."

"What?" Her jaw dropped, "An Air Nomad was wed to the Fire Lord?"

"No. There was no marriage, but the Air Nomads did agree to tie Air to Fire by choosing one of their women to enter the Fire Lord's bed, siring him his son, his heir. And the woman did succeed, but the Children of Fire were outraged that their future Fire Lord would be part Air and rose against Fire Lord Houka, catching him by surprise when they, in a large mob, entered the palace, and he was accidentally killed, leaving his only infant son, Zyrn as Fire Lord."

Katara gasped, sitting up straighter, "A child?" She asked in disbelief, "How could they put... a child on the Dragon's Throne? I thought that they hated Zyrn."

"He was the heir, Katara. When news spread that Fire Lord Houka had been murdered in the uprising, a great shock had been the reaction; they had, apparently, only meant to murder the Air Nomad woman and kill the child, never wishing harm upon their Fire Lord. Subsequently, out of fierce guilt for their egregious deeds, they all loyally pledged themselves to Zyrn as the Fire Lord."

"And what about the mother?"

"She had wanted pretty much nothing to do with her son, believing him to be an abomination; she left the Fire Nation, leaving the baby Zyrn behind after Houka had been murdered.

She felt angry tears well in her eyes, "How could she? Her son needed her! How could they place a crown on a baby's head when he had no mother or father?"

"Zyrn was the rightful heir to the Dragon's Throne, Katara. That's how it works, especially since Fire Lord Houka had no brothers. Anyway, because his mother fled, the boy was weak-willed and dominated by his advisors, who he was also raised by. Eventually, through the words of these selfish advisors, Fire Lord Zyrn, when he became of age, was convinced to marry Kimiko, daughter of the Head of the strongest Noble House at the time to gain their support and to strengthen the Royal Bloodline, trying to keep any Airbenders from being born. Kimiko was stunning, beautiful, ambitious, power-hungry, and utterly ruthless in persecuting any threat to her newfound power. Legend says that Fire Lady Kimiko would personally execute those who disrespected her." Zuko's eyes dimmed, "I suspect that Azula, during the Great War, was most similar to Kimiko."

Kimiko did sound exactly like Azula had been during the Great War and Katara licked her lips. "So, Kimiko manipulated her husband into killing the Vasuman, right?" Katara guessed after a pause.

"Pretty much, yes. She distrusted Rishi of Vasuman, one of the great-grandsons of Fire Lord Ravi most of all. You see, Rishi had been Fire Lord Zyrn's closest advisor and loyal general during the boy's childhood, the only of the advisors who kept Zyrn sane, but everything changed when Kimiko became Fire Lady. He was increasingly repressed by her, and the history of the Fire Nation changed when she convinced the incompetent Fire Lord Zyrn to banish Rishi for false accusations of treason. Widespread discontent spread through the Children of Fire for Kimiko was the ultimate puppet-master, controlling her husband flawlessly. Make no mistake, Katara," Zuko's eyes burned with knowledge and Katara stared into his beautiful, golden eyes. "Zyrn may have been Fire Lord and the face of the Fire Nation, but it was Kimiko who was the true ruler. _"_

"Was there a revolt by the Children of Fire? What about Rishi? What happened to him after his banishment?"

"Well, in the midst of all of the chaos, Rishi of Vasuman returned with an army to cause reform amongst the Fire Nation. He was initially unsuccessful, but he soon got his chance when he was appointed Regent of the Fire Nation after Zyrn suffered a mental breakdown. Rishi immediately excluded Kimiko from anything and forced her under house arrest with Zyrn's unconscious body and began drafting documents which would change the Fire Nation. Before he even began to truly change anything, though, Zyrn suddenly recovered and the Fire Lady shriekingly convinced him to reverse Rishi's reforms. Then, under the helpful guise of night, Rishi fled from the capital and raised an army once more. Though he was unable to directly seize the Dragon's Throne, he did, through cunning maneuvering, manage to get himself reinstated as the Regent of the Fire Nation, and have himself and his own heirs designated to succeed Zyrn upon his death as Fire Lord, skipping ahead of Zyrn and Kimiko's own son, Jylzhol of Ishaner."

Katara's jaw slightly dropped. "He was a very cunning man, then," she breathed out, trying to figure out how Rishi of Vasuman had managed to succeed to place himself and his descendants ahead of Zyrn's. "Kimiko must have been livid _._ "

Zuko laughed, "Oh, yes, she was, and she claimed her vengeance for instead of the Fire Crown, Rishi of Vasuman's head acquired a pike after he was murdered in battle with the Fire Lady's loyalists. She raised her own forces and campaigned against the Vasuman, discovering her husband, who had been captured by the Vasuman, sitting quietly beneath a tree, talking to himself. After she retrieved the insane Zyrn, Kimiko retreated to the northern part of the Fire Nation to consolidate, leaving the Dragon's Throne without any Fire Lord. Rishi of Vasuman's young son and heir, Ehktol took up the claim to the Dragon's Throne and was crowned as Fire Lord by the Fire Sages to Kimiko's outrage. Fire Lord Ehktol, after several blunders that almost cost him the Dragon's Throne, enjoyed great military success against the Ishaners, and eventually captured Zyrn once again while Kimiko fled into exile with her son, Jylzhol."

"So, it was over, then? The Ishaners' power was in tatters and the Vasuman were secure in their own power upon the Dragon's Throne."

"No, for the newly-crowned Fire Lord made a tragic political mistake by backing out of his arranged marriage to the sister of the strongest Head out of any and all of the Noble Houses so that he could secretly marry the widow of a minor Noble. This stupid act alienated Ehktol's most powerful ally, Rei, the strongest Head of all of the Noble Houses at the time and the disregarded bride's brother. Rei then allied with the Ishaners, turned Ehktol's jealous younger brother against him, and he even briefly managed to restore Zyrn as Fire Lord, but it didn't last."

"How so?"

"Ekhtol managed to recapture the Dragon's Throne, and in a battle afterward, the Ishaner Prince, heir to Fire Lord Zyrn and Fire Lady Kimiko, was killed in the battle, and Zyrn himself was murdered in his captivity not long after. Kimiko was found in her quarters, body terribly charred; she had set her clothes on fire and fanned the flames, taking her own life instead of bowing before Fire Lord Ekhtol and his heirs. The rest of Fire Lord Ekhtol's short reign was peaceful and prosperous, but upon his sudden death - and many say that he was secretly murdered - the bloodshed resumed once again. Though his 12-year-old son, Elsine was due to succeed him as Fire Lord, Ekhtol's once loyal younger brother, Ojas claimed that, due to Ekhtol's secret marriage, none of his children were legitimate to sit on the Dragon's Throne. Instead, Ojas assumed the Dragon's Throne himself, threw his nephews in prison, and was crowned the Fire Lord; they even say that it was he who killed his brother, Fire Lord Ehktol to seize the Dragon's Throne."

"What? Surely, your people were enraged by such an act!"

"Most of the Fire Nation didn't seem to actually care because the disastrous reign of a child Fire Lord in Zyrn was still fresh in everyone's mind; they thought it better that Fire Lord Ojas sit on the Dragon's Throne."

Katara licked her lips, dreading the thought but knew that she had to ask the question. "What happened to the nephews, to Fire Lord Ehktol's sons?"

Zuko sighed tiredly, gently intertwining their fingers. "Ojas secretly murdered them one night and revealed to the public that they had disappeared. Their two charred skeletons were found under a staircase in the prison by Sozin himself centuries later."

Tears welled in Katara's eyes, "How can somebody do that to their own family? What a monster."

"The same type of person who could do this," Zuko brought her hand to his scar, "to their own son, their heir with a smile on their face."

"Did Ojas get away with his crime?" Katara asked after several moments so she could recollect her emotions, trying to keep from envisioning Ozai scarring Zuko.

"At first, Fire Lord Ojas' power seemed secure, but his downfall would come only several years later by a long, lost blood relative. Henjul was a direct descendant of the first Ishaner, Fire Lord Hideki, raised in exile after his father's death in a previous rebellion against Fire Lord Ekhtol. Just as he had been discovered, the Vasuman faction was split due to Ojas' mad, blatant, and vile power grab. Henjul, as a result, won critical support for his royal claim and he raised an army, quickly overcame Ojas' superior forces and killed Ojas himself in battle, desecrating the body. Thus, he was crowned Fire Lord Henjul and by marrying Elizyruth of Vasuman, the older sister of the murdered Princes and eldest child of Fire Lord Ekhtol, Henjul forever joined the two Houses, incorporating both of them back into the Royal Bloodline, forever reuniting the House of Agni's power."

Katara watched Zuko close his eyes and inhale slowly as she pondered everything that she had just heard. "What happened after?"

"Well, Henjul and Elizyruth of Vasuman produced four children to survive past infancy: two boys and two girls and all were powerful Firebenders. Sadly, the heir apparent died in a training accident with his father and that left the younger son, Rylun as Fire Lord upon his father's death. The two daughters died before they were able to reproduce and when Rylun died, there was only one heir; the Children of Fire feared that another Cousins' War would happen, but it never did."

"That's very... interesting," she said quietly, staring into Zuko's eyes.

Her companion ducked his head, ashamed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have revealed all of that poison to you."

Katara's eyes widened and she quickly tried to reassure Zuko. "No, no, no _._  I am thankful that you put such trust in me; it's overwhelming, really."

"Still, I don't mean to burden you with the darkest parts of my nation's history."

She nodded and quickly switched the subject away from Zuko's bloodline and it's dark blood-soaked history. "So, the Fire Lord has absolute power over anyone in the Fire Nation?" She asked, "There is no Council of Five like Kuei had? Do you have a Court? Do the Noble Houses have any true power?"

Zuko laughed before he sighed. "The Fire Lord is the only main political leader of the Four Nations who needn't or must hear others' advice to make a decision. Sure, I have the occasional meeting with the generals and advisors, but they are old wretches, hanging onto a time of war when it has long since passed. I deal with them mainly just for show to keep the Nobles Houses from having thoughts of betrayal. The advisors and generals all masquerade as grandfatherly figures, but they are not. Their souls are as black as a starless night itself. Although they try to seem innocent, the facade fades to those who know of their true nature; they are rotten hags, they have the needs of men, and I've heard too many stories of young women, mostly servant girls, being raped." Katara gasped, and her blue eyes turned to slits, fists clenching as the pond beside them swirled violently. "I've executed the ones who I could prove did it, but most of the young girls are too afraid of the old generals and advisors' positions, the power that their Noble House affords them, to speak out."

"What do you mean?" She growled out, staring at him intently, daring him. "I had thought that the Noble Houses didn't matter!"

Zuko turned to look at her sadly, "To me, they don't, Katara. They hold no sway over me and they never will. The only possible reason why I would be remotely wary is that of a potential rebellion."

"Then those girls should speak out! How are they afraid of those scum?" She snarled, "Those monsters are not even of Noble Blood, are they? I know that being a Noble is important, but those bastards should be punished!"

"All Noble Houses are headed by a firstborn son. That is how it works and anything different is considered blasphemous. The second and third-born sons are conscripted as a Lieutenant in the military and work their way up the top until they become a general. You know of Zhao, right? He is a perfect example of that. If there is somehow a fourth-born son, which there is always at least one from the Houses, they become advisors and try to gain the favor of the Fire Lord himself. The girls all fear those men because the wretched hags are the brothers to the most powerful men in the Fire Nation."

"But you're the most powerful man in the Fire Nation, second only to the Avatar himself in reputation throughout the world! _"_  Katara glared at him, "You can't just let them do that, Zuko!"

"I can only do that if the girls testify, Katara. Otherwise, I would be my father and I refuse to do that, no matter how vile I know the wretched hags are. I will not become my father reborn," he declared with a surprising amount of patience. "I've ordered the wretches' executions without an ounce of guilt when there is evidence brought to me. Do you think that I allow that, Katara?" He sighed tiredly, "I hate it, but there's really nothing that I can do. If I kill the ones who I know are guilty without evidence, the Noble Houses would eventually band together and attempt a revolt to overthrow me. All of the Noble Houses are many in number and have a lot of family members in the military who hold sway over large squadrons of soldiers." Zuko threaded his fingers through his hair, "It's gotten better than what it was when I ascended the Dragon's Throne, Katara, but it's a long journey. My father had turned a blind eye to the old, wretched hags and he had most likely partaken in the... activities himself after my mother left. That's why it was so bad, why it still exists."

"So, it's always been like that?" She asked brokenly, not certain why she felt so distraught for a nation that wasn't her own.

"No. Fire Lord Azulon and Fire Lord Sozin were both notorious for their distaste for the hags who preyed on young and fertile women, and they all feared them, so they didn't attempt to force themselves upon the young girls. I've tried to have the same fear of my forefathers that kept the monsters in-line, but I'm afraid that I am too young. The hags can still picture the boy who took the Dragon's Throne instead of the man who I have now become."

Katara knew that if they continued this conversation, she would explode so she asked another question. "What about women? What do they do?"

Zuko was taken aback but quickly answered. "Well, women factor into much of the nation even if their position might seem demoralizing to you. They don't have any political power through the Noble Houses but look at Mai and Ty Lee. They are of the Noble Houses and they hunted down the Avatar - and myself, of course."

"That was because of Azula," she pointed out. "They got lucky and befriended the Princess of their nation."

"That is true, but my sister had power when she was with Ozai. Nobody messed with Azula, mainly because of her position and reputation." He sighed, "Most peasant girls if they're lucky, become maids and servants for the Noble Houses. Females born in the Noble Houses are pretty much used as nothing more than a tool to gain favor with the Fire Lord. First, they are sent to the Academy, where Azula and Mai and Ty Lee had met and attended for several years. Then, if they draw the eye of one of the other Heads of a Noble House or even the Fire Lord himself, a betrothal would commence. For example, I was betrothed to Mai before my banishment at the age of eight."

Katara's jaw dropped and she refused to acknowledge the rush of rage and envy that suddenly flashed through her heart. "Really? What about when you returned?"

"We tried dating for a while, but it was blatantly obvious that it wasn't ever going to work. While the match itself would be politically compatible, Mai would never be a remotely good Fire Lady. At the time of our betrothal, I was never expected to be Fire Lord. It would have been considered treasonous to even think it, blasphemous even. You see, my cousin, Lu Ten was alive and uncle's bloodline seemed to thrive. But my cousin's death is a perfect example of why all Fire Lord always want their heir and their spare in case something happens to their firstborn."

"So, what if the Heads of Noble Houses and the Fire Lord aren't interested in the girls? What happens to them, then?"

"The elite Firebenders are drafted into the military and serve under their brothers or uncles, or even father's. The girls who aren't drafted because of their abysmal bending or because they are a non-bender, are all rounded up and then integrated into a harem that someone, a Head of a Noble House or those of the Royal Bloodline, could purchase. I will say that my father purchased many of these harems. Frankly, I'm shocked that I don't have any bastard brothers and sisters. Who knows? I actually might."

"What?" Katara demanded, "How could people do that?"

"It's a different culture, Katara. In the Fire Nation, firebending men are ideal, and then non-bending men. Then, firebending women, and non-bending women. That's just how it works. Nevertheless, a non-bender is usually discarded, no matter the sex, because the Fire Royal Family and the Noble Houses view the child as a deformity to their bloodline. It was unheard-of what Fire Lord Sozin did, how he let Li and Lo live. Actually, my father and I had both thought that I was a non-bender for the longest time; it was all the way until I was 7-years-old, I believe. The only thing that had saved me from death was my mother, my grandfather, and the Sages' assurance that I was a Firebender."

Several tears spilled out of Katara's cheeks in a steady stream. "I can't believe…" she struggled to find words and was perpetually graceful when Zuko pulled her into his arms. She sunk into him, nestling into his warm chest and she felt him kiss her hair.

"You know, there was a full-fledged Fire Lady once." Zuko murmured, "She was the only heir to the Dragon's Throne upon her father's demise, and she became a true Fire Lady instead of just a Royal Consort. Her name was Fire Lady Akemi. Actually, she was Fire Lord Rylun's only child upon his death. He was Fire Lord Henjul's only surviving son, remember?"

Katara smiled against Zuko's chest, "Really? Who was she? What did she do?"

"She was Fire Lord Kazuki's mother, a generous ruler who, while in our time is thought of as an angel, one of the kindest to ever sit on the Dragon's Throne, was reviled by Agni's Children during her reign. It was the first and only time when a woman had ever sat on the Dragon's Throne and needless to say, she wasn't accepted. Fire Lord Rylun's final request was that she marry one of the Heads of the Noble House, and despite her reservations, she complied. Almost immediately after the marriage, Akemi became pregnant. It was highly-celebrated when the child was born a firebending boy and they named him 'Takumi'. Years later, Kazuki was born. I believe the reason that Kazuki desperately sought a male heir was because Akemi doted on her eldest son while Kazuki was only thought of as the spare heir, just as my own father was. He had mommy issues, you could say. When Takumi died from sweating sickness, Fire Lady Akemi mourned for a long time and as a result, her marriage suffered."

"What do you mean?" Katara frowned.

"Well, after several years, her husband, Ryyti sired a bastard child with a concubine who- "

Katara gasped, "What? Surely, he was executed, then! It's common knowledge, even to me, that if the Fire Lady bore a child that wasn't the Fire Lord's, she would be executed."

Zuko shook his head slowly, seeming to wince, "While that is true about a Fire Lady, the Fire Lord, whether he has the position as Royal Consort or by blood, is allowed to have as many concubines and bastard children as he wishes."

"What? But what about the Fire Lady?"

"Never. Even if they were the true heir, like Akemi, they had to be loyal to their consort."

"That's unfair!"

"Life's unfair," he shrugged. "Look at what has happened to all of us. Look specifically at Aang. What he had to choose to do on that trip from the Tree of Time, I can't even imagine."

"You're right," she whispered. "It's just like the Northern Water Tribe all over again!" Katara huffed against Zuko's chest in irritation, recognizing that she couldn't do anything to change it.

"Anyway, Ryyti sired a son through one of his concubines, and that sent Akemi spiraling out of control. She murdered the child, who she saw as her husband trying to replace her precious Takumi, and Kazuki, who by then was almost 17-years-old, witnessed it, undoubtedly traumatizing him. Records then show that Ryyti grievously beat Akemi after she killed his bastard son and Kazuki caught his father by surprise during the scuffle, killing him. They say that Akemi died from her wounds hours later, and Kazuki, subsequently, as the only heir, was crowned the Fire Lord, one of the youngest ever."

"I'm speechless, but at least now, Fire Lady Akemi is recognized as a good ruler even though she murdered an innocent child."

"Yeah, I know." Zuko whispered, "My bloodline is made of monsters, isn't it?"

Hearing the raw pain in his voice, she looked up at his hooded eyes. Without thinking through her actions, Katara grabbed his face and brought his lips down to her own.

After a moment's of hesitation, she felt Zuko eagerly respond, and his lips moved with and against hers, eliciting deep emotions within Katara. She moaned when his tongue snaked into her mouth, hot and heavy against her own, gliding across her teeth. His hands cupped her cheeks and the kiss deepened; his teeth gently nipped her lower lip, tongue quickly soothing the area. Katara's fingers found the back of his neck, massaging the pulsing muscles gently. Zuko sucked on her lower lip, caressing it while she tasted his upper one in return. Suddenly, he roughly pulled her onto his lap, pressed tightly against him, trailing his arms upwards over the luxurious folds of her gown, trailing hot, searching fingers across the front of her bodice and gripping the material roughly, trying to reach the forbidden flesh beneath _._  Katara gasped as his wandering fingers slowly moved along the outer swell of her breasts, cupping the swollen orbs gently, tenderly, almost lovingly.

He was hungry, but Katara was hungrier _._  She leaned upwards, craning her neck, arching into him as she drowned under the feel of him; his mouth was warm and his tongue was wet. Zuko became more urgent, lips crushing her own, and Katara longed to be utterly consumed by him _._  With one hand still on the small of her back, he pulled hard, crushing her against him and her fingers gripped his neck and cheek; his lips were needy and incessant whilst his hands ran downwards, reaching through the fabric of her gown as though he could touch the heated skin beneath simply through willpower. His large, strong hands cascaded along her rear, finding it and cupping it possessively, and then he was smiling against her lips as he greedily kissed her.

Katara couldn't catch her breath, lungs starved for air as she rolled her head against him. His hands explored her bodice once again, traveling upward, feeling urgently along the swell of her breasts, running his expert thumbs across her nipples as they hardened immediately under his heated touch. She fully wrapped her arms around his neck, basking in the feel of his lips on her own, his tongue gliding across hers, his fingers that sent delicious shivers through her body. She realized at that moment that she loved him, and she didn't want this to end. Zuko rumbled and her eyes abruptly popped open as she felt something poke her groin, making her shiver with desire.

Zuko pulled back with a sucking sound, fingers leaving her body, making her feel lost. "If we don't stop, I'm not sure if I will be able to restrain myself." His golden eyes burned with fire and Katara swallowed, ducking into his chest, and let him simply hold her.

She felt closer to him than she ever had.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Walking through the halls of Ba Sing Se's Royal Palace, Azula was bombarded with the memories from another life, of a time when she had been considered nothing more than a monster. She had killed people, soldiers that were only trying to protect their home, but back then, Azula hadn't ever cared.

All that she had wanted to do was make her father proud and if at all possible, earn his love.

What a fool she had been, truly. Ozai didn't care for anyone except himself, power, and possibly, her mother. Now, Azula knew better and she was content with the sharp stones that life had thrown at her. She had made many mistakes, but she had been given a second chance by the one person, the only person in the world who possessed the patience to help her.

Upon Zuko's instructions after her 'escape' from prison, Azula had soberly traveled to Ember Island, to her family's home where so many memories loomed in the shadows. For days, she had shuffled through the dusty villa, wondering what in Agni's name she was supposed to do. Despite her brother's mercy in letting her escape, Azula was wanted throughout the entire world for her crimes during the Great War. If anyone recognized her, she would be executed on sight, regardless if her brother was the Fire Lord. Was she supposed to linger on Ember Island for the rest of her life? What about when the Earth Kingdom's threat of war rescinded? Would Zuko force her back into that cell?

Thankfully, none of the inevitable outcomes that she had concluded had happened, though. Instead, an intruder had broken into her new home after a week of isolation, drawing her curiosity. After all, nobody dared enter the Fire Lord's home, not even the Heads of the Noble Houses. People had been executed by previous Fire Lords for much less; she alluded to Fire Lord Kazuki and several others, her father being one of them.

She had silently snuck behind the tall, broad yet lithe figure, figuring it to be a man but she wasn't sure; the urge to lash out was strong, but she had resisted for the sake of her curiosity, for the eagerness that she had felt to have contact with another person. Then, to her immense surprise, the figure had called out into the darkness, declaring that his name was Kuzon and that he was a friend of the Fire Lord Zuko's. Azula obviously knew at that moment that it was, indeed, a man; the deep voice, steady and yet gentle was her evidence. It contained a subtle power that she had never experienced before. Not even her father's voice could portray such simple… power as the man who had declared himself Kuzon.

She had moved slightly closer, trying to see through the darkness, but to her immense shock, the figure had stiffened, realizing that he was not alone; she had warily watched as the man raised his arms in a surrendering gesture, and slowly turned around.

Immediately, Azula had been struck by how handsome the man was. Pitch black hair, almost Fire Nation-like, covered his head, falling slightly past his ears and a headband wrapped around the man's forehead, accentuating his vibrant, intense, stormy gray eyes and the man's full lips. She had to stare up at the man for he was over a head taller than her; he was even taller than her brother! She had searched through her memory, sifting through images to try to remember if she had ever encountered such a handsome man, one who was so beautiful that she knew that he could have anyone who he wanted. When their eyes met - golden versus gray - the man's eyes had spasmed shut, a tenseness entering his body. After several moments, with Azula frozen to the spot, bemused by the reaction, the man's gray eyes had suddenly opened after a moment and his full lips were parted in shock, recognition carved into his handsome features.

 _"Azula,"_ he had whispered.

She remembered her own eyes widening and then they had narrowed into slits, wondering how the man had known who she was. Warily, she had stared up at the man and watched as the figure's arms lowered and the effect was instantaneous. Arrow tattoos were clearly visible and Azula gasped, hands alighting with hot sapphire flames.

 _"Avatar,"_ she had cursed, knowing that she wouldn't stand a chance against a fully-realized Avatar, nonetheless against the very same Avatar who had dethroned her father during Sozin's Comet when he had only been a mere, inexperienced boy. That boy had grown into the man who stood before her, the mighty god who her forefathers had all been terrified of. Azula realized swiftly that she would not survive a battle; her only chance was to tell the truth. It was the only way for her to continue living in freedom; she couldn't go back to that cell!  _"Zuko let me go,"_  she said adamantly, dimly realizing that her reputation as a skilled liar wouldn't help her at all in her conundrum.  _"I didn't escape, he let me go!"_  She tried to convey the desperate truth through her eyes, praying that the Avatar would believe her.

To her utter relief, the Avatar had sighed tiredly, gray eyes old.  _"And why on Devi's green Earth would Zuko do something like that?"_  He had asked politely, seeming to believe her, but he had needed the reassurance.

As a show of good faith, Azula had snuffed out her blue flames, tilting her head up to meet his, eyes connecting with his beautiful, old eyes.  _"Because I needed to be; my life was in danger."_

_"Very well, I would like to hear the details, then."_

Looking back at that moment, Azula wondered what would have happened if she had attacked Aang. All scenarios displayed her being either locked up again, having her bending removed, or a swift death. But because of her restraint and decision to be honest, none of those things had happened and she had, fortunately, been gifted a path that she could have never imagined. Instead, for the first time in her life, she had found someone who understood her.

Through months of slowly adjusting to having someone in her life who she could trust, Azula had learned much about the Avatar that she had never expected to, had never even thought of. She had always believed that her own childhood was rough, but through intense reflection and healing, in her opinion, it was nothing compared to Aang's heavy burden. At the age of twelve, he was tasked to save the entire world with the knowledge that one of the nations that he had had to liberate was the one that slaughtered his own people, his family _._  He was completely alone in a way that Azula - that no one - could ever understand, being the Last Airbender and the Avatar.

The Avatar was always traveling, fixing the world's problems because people expected the Balance-Keeper to be a babysitter, and nobody usually, continuously joined the Avatar on their duty. When she had begun to call him by his name, she realized that Aang was destined to be alone; she had easily been able to discern the visible anger that had seemed to shine in his gray orbs. She had learned of the blood that stained his hands, the deaths that he had been responsible for; she herself didn't have as much because of the Avatar State's unholy power. She had learned of the various tragedies that had plagued Aang throughout his life. He had revealed that he had always felt different ever since he could remember, and it had never been more apparent than when it had come to the elements; the bending arts were utterly effortless to him when he had actually focused and tried. He had shared the memories that he possessed of the other Elder Monks beside Gyatso at the Southern Air Temple always watching him, monitoring his actions continuously, challenging him with games that no matter what he did, it would never be good enough. Azula wondered if the Air Nomads did that with all of the Airbenders, or if it was only an Avatar-needed necessity. But based on what Aang had revealed from his trip back in time, it seemed that the Air Nomads had, indeed, fallen from grace; it sickened her because that behavior that the Elders displayed reminded her of Ozai.

Aang's journey had shed much-needed light on the darkest parts of Azula's heart. Through his unwavering patience, his relentless encouragement, she had realized much about her own life; her road to restoration had begun because of Aang. He had helped her, given her a reason to fully heal mentally from the horrible tragedies that the winds of fate had cursed her with. In return, to her incredulity, she had fallen in love with the Master of the Four Elements, the Balance-Keeper, with the Avatar, the boy who she had hunted across the world as a child.

Azula snorted in amusement. It was ironic; one of the heirs to Sozin, the man responsible for the genocide of the Air Nomads, was more than willing to bear the new nation of Airbenders.

"I see that you have become lost, Azula." King Bumi's nasally voice echoed in her ears and she turned around, nodding her head in greeting to the regent King of Ba Sing Se. The Earthbender smiled crookedly at her, lopsided eyes glowing like emeralds. "It's been a long time since I've had the pleasure of speaking with one of Sozin's line face-to-face."

Taken aback by those words, Azula raised a brow curiously. "I thought that you were friends with my uncle, the Dragon of the West?"

"Oh, most definitely, Azula. I am, indeed, Iroh's friend but it has been too long - years - since I have been able to give him a hug. In fact, I was the one who put him on the path of joining the Order of the White Lotus." Bumi sighed, switching the subject. "I can remember a time, in my childhood, when the Four Nations had seemed at peace."

"That was a long time ago," she said quietly, thinking about how much of the world had suffered because of her great-grandfather's influence, from Vaatu's influence, but it was Sozin's hands, nevertheless, that the blood of millions dripped from. "I've never known such a thing."

Bumi nodded solemnly, "Yes, it was a long time ago. In many ways, I believe that the Great War's greatest thefts have yet to be seen. As you said, your generation, you specifically know nothing about living in a peaceful world. Your group, save Aang, were all born in war, bred to fight… and kill _._ "

"Yes, you're right," she murmured. "My father was a cruel monster and raised me as his weapon, discarding me to the side when he no longer had any use for me. Yes, I was born into war, bred into it. The phantom feeling of pain was a constant ally, the only constant ally that I had had for so long. Until I met Aang, I had thought that that was how life itself was supposed to be."

"Your entire group, Aang included," Bumi shook his head mournfully. "You all suffer from the same afflictions, the utter poison that stains your souls, blackens them with the thoughts of hate, smothering the love, clouding it until the two become one and the same."

Azula snorted, "I know all about hate," she said softly. "I know about the differences between hate and love."

King Bumi turned to her, lopsided eyes showcasing his old age; they were serious, unnerving. "I'm not sure that you do, Azula. You're still young, around my grandson's own age. I'm uncertain that no one understands what true hatred is until one is, at the least, several decades old. What is something that you hate, Azula?"

"I hate my father," Azula said darkly, clenching her fists as memories of the utter abuse she suffered bombarded her mind. "He is a monster above all monsters; he was the perfect vessel for  _Dark._ "

Bumi nodded, "That is more than understandable, Azula. Ozai deserves to die and if he was right in front of me, I would hold no hesitation to watch the life flicker out of his eyes." He held up a finger, "But, you see, I wouldn't watch the life leave your father's eyes because of hate, but because of indifference."

Azula was taken aback, "What?" She asked numbly, "How is that supposed to make any sense?"

Bumi smiled gently, "Most, if not all, would describe hate as the opposite of love, but that is simply not true. The opposite of love is indifference," he held up a hand when Azula was about to protest. "You see, hate gnaws at you incessantly, Azula. It swirls around your soul, coiled through the deepest recesses of your heart. With every breath you take, no matter when it is, the hate is a venomous bite that deforms your mind until the only thing that keeps you alive are the whispers in the dark, the clouds that shadow the brightest days. Hate is a constant in your life to those who are unfortunately afflicted by it; it walks with you throughout your journey, and sleeps with you through the night, poisoning your dreams. Hate is overly cruel and it cares for nothing except you and the one - or ones - who you hate."

"I've never heard hate described like that," she admitted, amazed at Bumi's wisdom; it reminded her of Aang, somewhat.

"Nor would I have expected you to, Azula. I know, first-hand, the effects of true hate _._  When the Air Nomads were slaughtered, I succumbed to the hate, eagerly bearing arms against the Children of Fire."

"Then why do you say that indifference is the opposite of love?" She questioned in bemusement, "That doesn't make sense. I... don't understand."

Bumi tilted his head at her, staring at her thoughtfully. "Think of it this way, Azula: when you love someone, you care for them even more than you care for yourself. Simply, you love them. When you hate someone, you still care about them only because it needs to be you who ends their life, who stops the beating of their heart. You love Aang, yes?" Azula nodded, speechless, "If you hated him, he would still consume your thoughts, but if you were indifferent to him, that is when you wouldn't care at all if he died right in front of you, regardless if it were you who killed him. _"_

"I would hold no emotion while watching him die," she realized, feeling sick at the very thought. That was how her younger self had been, the Avatar-hunting Azula had been during Ba Sing Se, during the damned night when she had ravaged Aang's body with her strongest lightning strike; she had held no emotion except triumph as she had watched the Avatar fall.

"Yes, that is why indifference is the true opposite of love. Anyway, if you were looking for Aang, he's feeding Appa in the Royal Stables. He also mentioned something about meditating with his past lives."

Azula nodded and while she knew she looked pale, she contemplated Bumi's words. "Thank you, King Bumi."

She needed to speak to Aang immediately.

XxXxXxXxXxX

In vigorous retrospection, Iroh was relieved that this had not been his chosen path. Although he had been an esteemed General, the Dragon of the West, sitting on the Dragon's Throne was simply tedious, to say the least. He honestly had no idea how Zuko didn't execute the Nobles every day - and his nephew's temper was worse than his own!

Iroh rubbed his beard, reviewing the paperwork to commission his Jasmine Dragon in the Caldera. Since he had taken over as regent, taking over the job that he had been groomed from birth to dawn, Iroh was impressed with his nephew's dedication to his people. Zuko had worked tirelessly to create a better economy, and through much hard work, he had been able to reverse Ozai's horrid legislation.

Although, problems did still reign supreme over the lower class of Agni's Children. Ozai's machinations had borne strife on anyone not of strong blood. Iroh shook his head, putting down the Jasmine Dragon's construction paperwork. The reason that he had decided to use his power as the regent Fire Lord to commission a Jasmine Dragon was so that Iroh could stay close with his dearest nephew. After the Great War, he had visited Sozin's Caldera several times but had always journeyed back to Ba Sing Se after a few weeks. He had been selfish in pursuing his dream; he had wanted away from the Fire Nation, away from the memories that would flood his mind.

By doing that, he had, in a way, abandoned his nephew to deal with the Noble Houses by his lonesome when he was on the brink of adulthood - one of the youngest Fire Lords in the history of their nation, and by far, the most successful at his age.

"Prince Iroh," his gaze snapped to one of the Palace's scribes who had just entered. The boy looked to be around 17 or 18-years-old, black hair falling past his ears and to his shoulders. The boy was thin, almost painfully so, but Iroh instinctively knew that it was a facade, for the boy undoubtedly had strength. Iroh could feel the boy's chi, and it was strong, although it possessed no Fire. What drew his attention, though, were the boy's eyes. They were permanently wide, irises gleaming almost malevolently in the light of the room. "We have received word that Fire Lord Zuko's group has reached King Bumi in Ba Sing Se. Also, several of the Imperial Firebenders and Yu Yan Archers who had served Fire Lord Zuko while he was searching for the Avatar's location have requested an audience with you, Prince Iroh. They claim to possess critical knowledge of our enemy's whereabouts."

Iroh narrowed his eyes and nodded. "Send them in… quickly _._ " What would they know of his brother's whereabouts?

"Of course, Prince Iroh," the scribe motioned behind him and Iroh watched as five men swiftly entered, postures ramrod and eyes dark. "Imperial Firebender Ryuko, Imperial Firebender Mako, Imperial Firebender Oryn, Yu Yan Archer Suarto, and Yu Yan Archer Tsyuni." The scribe quickly announced and scurried out of the Fire Lord's privy chambers, shutting the door.

"Gentlemen," Iroh nodded, observing the men before, knowing that he looked every bit the Dragon of the West, the firstborn of Fire Lord Azulon.

They all kneeled before him humbly. "Prince Iroh," Oryn murmured and they all rose gracefully.

"The scribe mentioned that you all possess knowledge of the enemy. Why do you claim this? Are you traitors to the Dragon's Throne?"

Mako stepped forward, looking shocked. "Prince Iroh, we are loyal," he said adamantly, all the other men nodding in agreement.

Iroh raised a brow, seeing through the words easily. "And to whom are you loyal, all of you? To Fire Lord Zuko? You didn't specify," he asked curiously, already knowing the answer. Just as he had suspected, the men paled, eyes widening in realization. Mako swallowed and opened his mouth, but Iroh waved him off. "The reason why you possess knowledge of the enemy is that you are soldiers for the enemy, for my brother. _"_  Iroh said darkly, glaring down at the Imperial Firebenders and Yu Yan Archers, the traitors to the Dragon's Throne, to his nephew.

As if a signal went off, the men all gained a cold glint in their eyes, fire sprouting from the fists of the Firebenders while the Yu Yan drew their bows back, arrowheads gleaming under the light of the fire.

"The Phoenix King sends his regards, Prince Iroh." Mako smiled coldly, "The reign of the treacherous Fire Lord Zuko will soon be over, and the Phoenix King will rise, bringing forth a new era!"

Iroh shook his head sadly, keeping his eyes focused on the traitors, gathering his energy. "An era of darkness, you fools. Alas, it is too late for all of you. Your fates have been sealed, but know that I will take no pleasure in this."

"Our fate?" Mako scoffed, flames growing with anger. "No, your fate has been sealed, Prince Iroh! The line of Sozin is full of traitors: Fire Lord Zuko, you, and the traitorous Princess Azula. Phoenix King Ozai will merge with Vaatu and become the new Avatar."

"You're delusional, all of you." Iroh almost laughed at their absurd mindsets. "Nonetheless, you have all lived your last days; none of you will be leaving this room alive."

Mako stepped closer, anger carved deep into his flesh. "Oh, I think we will," he leaped forward and punched forward, a torrent of embers flashing towards Iroh.

Kicking the desk forward, Iroh lashed through the wood and attacking the surprised, traitorous Children of Fire; he hissed as an arrow grazed his cheek, a thin line of blood bubbling to the surface. Iroh rolled to the side and swept out his leg, fire sprouting from his foot as Ryuko was caught, screaming in pain as his flesh melted from the sizzling hot flames; his death was imminent.

"You bastard!" Mako roared, "You killed him! My cousin!" Sparks of lightning condensed in Iroh's palm as he leaped away from Mako's spinning flame kick. He spun around and unleashed his lightning, watching dispassionately as the man was blown apart, smashing into part of the wall in different areas; blood colored the walls further crimson.

Iroh summoned a wall of flames that kept the incoming arrows from reaching him, melting upon contact with his fire. He hopped over Ryuko's carcass and spun to his right, wrapping his hand around Tsyuni's bow, wrenching it to the side; he quickly snapped his hand towards the Yu Yan's face, breaking bones, and blood sprayed into Iroh's beard. Suddenly, he heard the tell-tale sound of a bow's line being pulled back, and Iroh yanked Tsyuni in front of him, multiple arrows tearing through the man's body relentlessly; the arrowheads were a hair's breadth away from Iroh's face and chest.

"Prince Iroh!" Iroh's eyes widened when he saw the scribe entire into the array of chaos, surprise plastered on the poor boy's face. Before Iroh could try to react, Suarto snapped his bow into the scribe's face; the man wrapped his arm around the boy's throat, arrowhead held against the side of the skull, ready to tear through bone, muscle, and brain _._

"You know that I'll do it, Prince Iroh." Suarto's tone chilled Iroh's soul, "I know that you don't want this poor scribe's blood on your hands, so surrender and he will remain breathing."

Iroh closed his eyes in sorrow and he kicked Tsyuni's body to the floor, arms raised in a gesture of surrender; he stared at the scribe, who looked to be no older than Zuko was when his nephew ascended to Fire Lord, than when his precious son, Lu Ten was killed. "Don't worry, boy, it will be all right." He felt Oryn step behind him and Iroh was shoved down on his knees, a fire dagger held to his throat. "Release the boy. If you don't, your honor will be questioned."

Just as he knew would happen, Suarto shoved the boy to the corner, snarling in rage as he wasn't able to kill the scribe as he desired. Iroh had deliberately mentioned honor because he knew that in the Fire Nation, if one's honor was questioned, they would be shunned by everyone. His head suddenly snapped to the side as Suarto backhanded him, following it up with a swift, painful kick to the abdomen.

"Phoenix King Ozai will reward me greatly for the murder of his elder brother." Oryn hissed into his ear and Iroh's eyes connected with the boy's. The scribe gripped a fallen arrow from the ground and his eyes glowed with determination and rage and insanity. Iroh urged the boy to wait with his eyes and was relieved to see that his order was followed.

"Fuck you, Oryn," Suarto sneered, "If anyone will be rewarded by the magnificent Phoenix King, it will be me _._  In case you had forgotten, it was me who had coerced Prince Iroh to surrender, not you." Iroh wanted to laugh. He raised his brow at the boy and smiled slightly as Suarto's back was turned, oblivious to his imminent demise.

"It doesn't matter!" Oryn spat, spit falling into Iroh's hair, "Let's just murder him and then I'll kill the boy- behind you!" When the grip on his shoulders slackened in shock, trying to warn Suarto, Iroh harshly elbowed Oryn; he quickly wrapped his fiery hand around the fire dagger, snuffing out the flames. He wrenched the man's arm, snapping bones like twigs. On his knees, Iroh spun, twisting the man's broken arm and jumping to his feet, smashing his knee into Oryn's face, snapping his head back like a slingshot. Before the Firebender could defend himself, Iroh roared, breathing pure fire into Oryn's face, killing him quickly, but painfully.

"Not… another step, Prince Iroh." Suarto hissed, and Iroh closed his eyes in anger. He slowly turned around, not moving a step, and clenched his jaw upon seeing the boy held in Suarto's grasp. A large, bloody wound was scraped through the man's face and Iroh knew that the boy had mistakenly attacked Suarto's face instead of the neck. Always go for the neck in close combat - firebending basic teachings.

Iroh grasped for excuses, "Just… let the boy go, Suarto. He has nothing to do with this! If you kill him, your honor will be in doubt."

"The boy knows too much," the man laughed loudly and the arrow dug into the poor boy's skull slightly. Suarto rubbed his face against his shirt, smearing blood across the red expanse, darkening the color even further. "And nobody will be able to question my honor because everyone who knows the truth will soon be dead!"

Iroh shuddered and tried to smile at the boy, "Do not worry, boy. You will live to see another sunrise."

"Don't lie to the scribe," Suarto chided and the boy thrashed in the grip and a cloud of energy seemed to emanate from him before it vanished. "This boy will die. It is only, and simply, the inevitable. He's pointless anyway, Prince Iroh. He's a peasant! Not of Noble or Royal Blood!"

"Nobody is pointless, fool!" Iroh cried out, breathing deeply, obscuring his fingers' motions, letting puffs of steam cloud through his nostrils to conceal his actions. "Everyone matters and their blood doesn't determine who they are! What they choose to do in their life, who they choose to be will be their legacy."

Suarto scoffed, features rippling with disdain. "You truly are senile. It's pathetic! The once-great Dragon of the West, firstborn of Fire Lord Azulon is a traitor to Agni's Children! No, you are the fool! Unable to see the truth! _"_

Iroh smiled steely, "Many of the truths that we cling to depend greatly on our perception." He felt the lightning begin to form, spiraling across his fingers in a beautiful pattern, a dance of energy. "Who is the fool, Suarto? The fool, or the fool who is distracted by senseless ramblings?" Just as he finished, the scribe snapped his teeth across Suarto's hand, blood squirting from multiple puncture wounds as fingers were torn off in a display of animalistic savagery.

The Yu Yan Archer cried out in pain and fury, throwing the boy to the side in a reflexive gesture, and it was as the Dragon of the West had foreseen; he was ready, prepared. Iroh unleashed his lightning, watching with a grim-like satisfaction as Suarto's body was blown apart, blood spraying the floor and walls; the traitor joined his fellow traitor, Mako.

"Are you injured, Prince Iroh?" The scribe stumbled forward, spitting out the now-dead man's fingers, assessing his body for wounds.

Iroh waved him off. "I'm fine, boy, but the question is: are you all right? You were most brave," he was impressed with the boy, with the courage that he had displayed despite his obvious fear. It reminded him of his nephew before his banishment, actually.

"I'm a little shaken, but other than that, I'm okay, Prince Iroh." The scribe suddenly smiled and Iroh was immediately wary of that smile, the subtle triumphant, savage gleam that shined in the boy's eyes, the sheen of red blood coating the boy's teeth, looking like it belonged. It eerily reminded him of Azula during Ba Sing Se many years ago, but somehow... worse. "You mustn't worry about me, my liege."

With narrowed golden eyes, Iroh observed the scribe. Before, when he was captured, the boy had been timid and terrified, playing the role of a scared hostage. But now, the boy seemed confident, unperturbed by the blood staining his clothes and teeth. "Get yourself a clean change of clothes, boy, and return to your duties," he finally declared. "Before you depart, though, answer me this: what is your name, boy?"

"My name is Lee, Prince Iroh," the boy's tone was level and Iroh didn't like it, especially when he was able to sense that it was a lie. The heat in the boy's body had flared dramatically around the boy named Lee's eyes and nose, indicating a bold lie.

Iroh stepped forward and didn't fail to notice the scribe stiffen, eyes becoming more alarmed with each step Iroh took. Iroh narrowed his eyes even further as he felt a tug on his chi, something that he had never experienced before. He stared into Lee's eyes, and then he smiled, purposefully losing the 'General' look. "Thank you for your bravery, Lee. Your courage will be rewarded justly. I will see to it. I take back my earlier order. Go rest, boy. You've been through a traumatic experience." He placed a 'fatherly' hand on the boy's shoulder, radiating fake pride. "A young man needs his rest, Lee, especially the brave ones."

The scribe bowed, looking relieved. "At your orders, Prince Iroh," he turned around and soundlessly stepped through the stained, chaos-impacted room, unaffected by the death.

"And, Lee," Iroh called out, watching the scribe pause. "Make sure to speak of this to no one." The boy nodded and left the room.

Iroh knew that he would need to message his nephew at once and keep an eye on the scribe named Lee. Something was definitely off about the boy, or maybe, Iroh was paranoid about what had just happened; he didn't know, but hopefully, his nephew would.

XxXxXxXxXxX

**Well, that's all for this chapter, everyone. I hope you all enjoyed it, and please, remember to leave a review, whether it be positive or negative, I really appreciate it.**

**So, some action happened in this chapter:**

****Zhao returns and joins Vaatu and Ozai, and Chin's Children, and Hama! He reveals the location of the Ocean and the Moon's mortal forms in return for his freedom. Now, Vaatu and Ozai know the location and know where they can achieve power over Water. All that's left, if they accomplish acquiring Water, is the Air Spirit.**

**Zhao's prison is based on the Greek myth surrounding the Titan Prometheus. In legend, the Titan stole the gift of fire under Zeus' nose and the King of the Olympians** **was not happy** **about it. For his punishment, Prometheus was chained to a rock and an eagle, the symbol of Zeus, feasted on the Titan's liver. Even worse, Prometheus' liver re-grew every night and the eagle returned each day to perpetually torment the Titan, continuing to devour Prometheus' liver.**

**Shout-out to** _**gaara king of the sand** _ **who gave me the idea to have Zhao back in the story. For Zhao's punishment, the Ocean Spirit is Zeus and the act of drowning is the eagle. Agni's light represents the 'liver' growing back as the sun recuperates Zhao's corpse. Anyway, I honestly** **hated** **what the** _**Legend of Korra** _ **did with Zhao. The Fog of Lost Souls seems** **too** **lenient,** **in a way, to me. The Ocean Spirit is one of the Major Spirits in Avatar, one of the Elementals themselves. His sister was** **murdered** **by a human and I feel like La, the Ocean Spirit would want a** **personal hand** **in Zhao's punishment. Needless to say, in the world of Avatar,** **don't EVER** **piss off a spirit.**

****Chin V reveals some critical details! I've never,** **never** **been a fan of a villain or character like Chin the Conqueror who seem to have no motivations in response to their actions. Personally, that's why I enjoy Darth Vader in** _**Star Wars** _ **. I can - and others can, too - understand his fall to the Dark Side, to the regime of the Sith. Anyway, I wanted Chin's reasons for what he did to be a little fleshed out. In Avatar, the Fire Lord is** **easily** **the strongest of the Four Nation's political leaders. The Earth Kingdom isn't unified, but rather under the rule of four separate Kings. The Water Tribes are each under the rule of a single Chief, but they both only control half of their nation. The Air Nomads had Elder Monks and Nuns who ran each Temple and when combined, formed the High Council of Elders. The Fire Lord is the** **only** **ruler who controls everything in their respective nation. I think that Chin the Conqueror saw that and realized that the Earth Kingdom should be set up that way as well, so he laid siege to his nation, forcing it under his heel until Avatar Kyoshi finally stopped him.**

****Bumi gets some backstory! I've** **always** **enjoyed the concept of Bumi's character, a personal friend to Aang who lived through the** **entire** **Great War. He saw, firsthand, the** **true horrors** **of battle and was, subsequently, scarred by those experiences. He opens up to Aang about his life and reveals some critical details. First, the genocide of the Air Nomads that he believed to have killed his** **best friend** **. Bumi, above all else, desired vengeance and eagerly, once he became the King of Omashu, joined the war effort of the Earth Kingdom. He also explains how hopeless it was to continue to fight because the Fire Nation was so powerful and advanced, head and shoulders above the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes.**

**Sozin lived for 153 years and had** **plenty** **of time, with the influence of Agni and Vaatu, to plan his strategy to create a world of only Fire. Roku physically didn't** **do much to stem Sozin's ambitions. On his friend's wedding, Sozin did bring it up, but Roku** **shut him down** **with scarcely a sentence:** _**"This is the last I want to hear of it."** _ **That threat obviously didn't last as Sozin was able to, without Roku's knowledge - which is impressive or scary depending on the point-of-view - create the Fire Nation Colonies in the Earth Kingdom. Once he finds out, Roku sets things straight and then doesn't speak to Sozin until the day of his death. If Sozin was able to hide** **the Co** **lonies** **from Roku, he would have EASILY been able to hide much more. Once Roku died - or was left to die - Sozin had** **nobody** **to fear. He was able to build his army in secret, without the gaze of the other nations, build his power for decades without the fear of facing retribution from the other nations' knowledge of his machinations. As a result, the Fire Nation had well over a decades head start over the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom in preparing for the Great War. (Honestly, it's incredibly, almost unfathomable that the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes were able to last as long as they did during the Great War. Realistically, they would have been destroyed because of the Fire Nation's technological advances and decades-long preparations for the Great War.)**

**Bumi revealed his plan that he had implemented to Aang about siring strong Earthbenders. I was never a fan, when in the show, both** _**the Last Airbender** _ **and the** _**Legend of Korra,** _ **it said that spirituality is the** **only** **way that someone achieves bending. I think that is ridiculous. If that were the case, a Firebender could easily be born to an Earthbender or vice versa. Genetics, the blood itself** **must** **play a role in it. If not, why is Aang the ONLY one who can sire Airbenders in the world? Why were people so concerned that the Air Nomads were gone forever? Why were Yakone's children so powerful in waterbending to the point where they could bloodbend without a full moon? Why were Amon and Tarrlok able to have waterbending after their father's bending was taken away?** **Because blood plays the biggest role, it has to! That part was Canon - at least for Airbenders with Aang - until the bullshit spirit magic mumbo jumbo, deus ex machina that suddenly gave a bunch of people airbending after the Harmonic Convergence in _Legend of Korra_.**

**(Sorry, but I really hated that because it totally disregards true and lasting consequences. The Air Nomads' Genocide and Aang's constant, ubiquitous need to sire Airbenders to repopulate his race is the greatest scar of the Great War that stemmed from Fire Lord Sozin's evil; it's a scar that should take many generations to fully heal - or fade, I guess. It should be a constant reminder of the horrors that Sozin unleashed and what true war can beget. But then it's just wiped away! I mean, what the actual fuck? I'm sorry for the vulgar language, but you CANNOT do that! For real-world context, that would be similar to wiping away the holocaust! Suddenly giving people airbending and regrowing the Air Nomads so easily pretty much says: "Fuck long-lasting effects on the Four Nations and the world, fuck the scars caused by war, and fuck the concept of things taking time to heal from!" If you liked it, that's completely fine, but I just didn't.)** **Bumi knew that blood was more important than spirituality so he sired four children: 1 non-bender and 3 Earthbenders. One of the benders was stillborn and Bumi gave his non-bending daughter to another family. (Personally, my theory is that for the spirituality angle to work, a spiritual person must have been touched by a spirit to have bending, thus changing their blood or unlocking something in one's genetic potential to manipulate an element. Then this person sires children with this same genetic potential - or even better depending on who the other parent is - and thus it's a domino effect. It would work the same for energybending and thus the chi-flow. That's just my theory.)**

**It was revealed that Piandao was given up by his Firebender parents because he wasn't a Firebender. I think that would be** **very** **common in the world of Avatar, especially during a time of war. In Japan, a long time ago, there was a rule or custom of adopting children out of a family and into another if the child's abilities and skills matched better with the new family than the birth family. Anyway, the girl dies and Bumi is once again kicked in the heart by life. Then he reveals what happened to his son, Sheil. Bumi is very wary around his family, of the possibility that he could lose more of them to death.**

****Toph's journey after the Great War is shown and I think that it is realistic for her parents not to change their ways. By their age, the Beifongs would have many problems trying to change their ideology, their need to keep Toph in a cage. To me at least, in the show, it seemed like the Beifongs despised things or people that they couldn't control. They were very rich and in the old days, the rich lived with certain 'rules' that had to be followed or you could be cast out. Toph, as we all know, is a very rebellious person and** **hates** **being told what to do. To their credit, the Beifongs did** **try** **to change their ways but, ultimately, were unable to do so because as the popular saying attests, you can't teach an old dog new tricks.**

**I honestly think that Toph would have no problems killing someone, especially if they were raiders and rapists. Her personality, once she accepts something as 'the right way', wouldn't allow her to feel regret. And honestly, even though the raiders might not have deserved it, those rapists most certainly did. I hold** **no respect** **for any man or woman who sexually forces themselves upon someone for the act of procuring carnal pleasure. It is wrong, and there is no place for it in** **any society, so Toph shouldn't feel regret whatsoever** **.**

**The Blind Bandit then falls in love with Bor when she went to Omashu. Yes, Bor is older than Toph. Also, I do truly think that Bumi is a stronger Earthbender than Toph. Before you start raging, hear me out on this: Toph's** **key vulnerability** **is her blindness even though it is also her greatest strength. Experienced combatants, like Bumi who fought during the entire duration of the Great War, could** **easily** **exploit her inability to 'see' through her eyes and only 'see' things when it is touching the ground, achieving victory in a match. Bumi, in my opinion, has more** **raw** **power than Toph and I think that their technique, their skills are evenly matched. During the Day of Black Sun, Bumi** **single-handedly** **retook the entire city of Omashu, killing** **hundreds** **of non-benders and Firebenders alike. Even though the sun was blocked, any Firebender's chi during that time was still full of energy. They couldn't express that by bending because the darkened sun wouldn't allow that, but they could still fight, using their chi to even strengthen their body. Plus,** **Bumi can bend with his face!** **Nobody else can do that with earthbending! We also need to take in the fact that Bumi is** **a century older** **than Toph, with decades of experience and knowledge that Toph simply doesn't, and might never have. Bumi was, as a teenager, raised in war. Every day, he would train and train and** **train** _**.** _ **Then he was, I assume, on the battlefield fighting. Whereas, Toph was raised in a cage and was unable to fully apply herself. She never necessarily had the time to fully commit to training like Bumi did because she was under house arrest thanks to her parents. Combine all of those things together, and I believe that it is easy to understand that Bumi is more powerful than Toph. Also, prodigies are known to struggle against someone who is their equal or superior; they are so used to being the best that when they are beaten, it is impossible for them to grasp that they aren't the best. Azula was an example of this, Toph is an example of this, and even Katara was briefly when she first taught Aang waterbending. (She thought that she was so great because she taught herself some small moves, but then Aang, pun definitely intended, blew her out of the water.)**

****Zuko and Katara talk and Katara questions him about the Fire Nation and its history. I've always been fascinated with the Fire Nation's lore and took some liberties to make it, in my opinion, awesome and dark like a lot of real-world histories. In case you hadn't guessed, Fire Lord Kazuki's character was based on King Henry VIII, England's most notorious - and probably most powerful - monarch. In real life, Henry VIII was absolutely** **obsessed** **with having a true heir to his kingdom - a son. (He famously divorced Catherine of Aragon, who only bore him dead children and one living daughter, who, in his mind, was a failure, so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. After several years, all Anne Boleyn accomplished was a living daughter - another failure in Henry VIII's mind, but that daughter would grow up to be Queen Elizabeth I, easily one of England's greatest rulers - and several miscarriages, who were confirmed to have been sons. To get rid of her, Henry had Anne Boleyn detained at the Tower of London on several false charges, among them adultery, incest, and conspiracy. Then, several days later she was beheaded. King Henry VIII quickly married Jane Seymour, who was able to bear him a living son, but she died only weeks later from puerperal fever, an infection that can arise from childbirth complications.) As I'm sure that you can clearly see, Fire Lord Kazuki is** **very** **similar to King Henry VIII.**

**In Avatar Canon, it says that a single Fire Sage rose above the other Sages and became the Fire Lord, but I honestly don't see that going well; the other Sages would want to become the Fire Lord and war would be waged. So, I added the first civil war concept and then, Fire Lord Kai eventually became the lone Fire Lord. In case you didn't know, the sweating sickness was a very real thing. During King Henry VIII's reign, it terrified him because it was so deadly and common. Also, consumption is the old term for tuberculosis - made famous by Edgar Allan Poe. In real history, men have been hailed across the globe as the dominant sex. I think that would be the Fire Nation's thoughts as well along with** **all of** **the nations except the Air Nomads.**

**The Noble Houses are based on real political history as well. Only a son is considered a legitimate heir - in fact, families would pray for a son so that the family line wouldn't die out - and the firstborn male of any aristocratic** **and Noble family automatically inherited** **everything** **upon the father's death. Simply put, the eldest son - never a daughter - is** **always** **the natural heir to the father's estates, riches, land, and women - concubines. It might sound like he would be living the dream, but familial duties would begin to demand his attention and resources. If the firstborn had any sisters and nieces, they would** **all need** **to be supplied with suitable marriage portions, or in the case of the Fire Nation, have enough money and skills to survive the Academy. If the firstborn had a brother or nephew, which is very likely, funds would need to be given so that they could enlist in the Fire Nation military as a lieutenant instead of starting at the bottom of the ladder. The fourth-born son, if there is one, would need to be schooled on everything from politics to economics and diplomacy. The fourth-born son would become an advisor and seek to catch the eye of the Fire Lord, who could show him, and thus his Noble House favor.**

**Also, the Cousins' War was another name in real life for the criminally - in my mind - underrated War of the Roses. These were the events that actually inspired the very successful _Game of Thrones_  book series. Honestly, in my opinion, they are utterly fascinating _._  Actually, the characters are directly based on the main people in the War of the Roses and the events that led to it: Fire Lord Ravi is King Edward III, Fire Lord Rohit is King Richard II, Fire Lord Hideki is King Henry IV, Fire Lord Houka is King Henry V, Fire Lord Zyrn is King Henry VI, Fire Lady Kimiko is Margaret of Anjou, Rishi of Vasuman is Richard of York, Fire Lord Ehktol is King Edward IV, Rei is Richard Neville who was the Earl of Warwick who is also better known as the Kingmaker, Fire Lord Elsine is King Edward V, Fire Lord Ojas is King Richard III, Fire Lord Henjul is King Henry VII, and Elizyruth of Vasuman is Elizabeth of York. Okay, these are some extremely chaotic events and the Fire Nation has a lot of them, but in my mind, the Cousins' War would be the worst because it's a continuous upheaval that upsets the balance for multiple centuries. The Avatar would never allow such a thing to happen, but who was an Avatar who was really laid-back and let people 'solve their own problems?' Avatar Kuruk! So during his reign as Avatar, I had the Fire Nation undergo the civil war; it wouldn't be out of character for Kuruk because he has been proven to be a failure as Avatar in regard to actually doing his job as the Balance-Keeper.**

**Finally, the reason why Katara doesn't show her displeasure as much as she probably would if the conversation had happened in the show is that she understands that there is** **nothing** **that she could do to change history. The Water Tribes haven't really changed much despite the fact that Katara was taught waterbending. Traditions can last for many decades until a social reformation happens, which is very rare. The Fire Nation has been rooted in those traditions for many centuries, and Katara has matured enough to recognize that there isn't much that she could do to** **change** **them** **. Before, she would have childishly whined about the unfairness of it all, but now she has matured. Maybe, she also realizes that if she were in a relationship with Zuko, she would really be able to make some** **long-lasting change** **within the Fire Nation, the strongest out of the Four Nations. Who knows? We'll have to wait and see.**

****Iroh is attacked by a group of traitorous Children of Fire who are loyal to Ozai and Vaatu, the same guards that the Gaang trusted in the previous chapters while Azula was healing. One of the main reasons why I wrote that scene was to show what a badass the Dragon of the West truly is and for some other reasons I don't think I should share as of now - I don't want to ruin anything. He was the General of the Fire Nation military for at least a decade, firstborn of the prodigy, Fire Lord Azulon. I love Iroh's character, easily one of the best in fiction, but I do wish that they had shown how much of a retired badass he is. Although I don't think that he could ever beat Ozai in Canon, especially considering the lightning strike in _The Day of Black Sun_  episode that Ozai threw at Zuko, I think that he would be able to hold his own against his younger brother for a short time. (E.g. Kind of like how Aang did before he went into the Avatar State during Sozin's Comet.) I am trying to almagate the two main characteristics that everyone loves about him: his 'uncle' personality and the Grandmaster of the Order of the White Lotus, retired badass motherfucker. I don't know if I've done a good job, but oh well. We'll all see what happens.**

**Well, I think that's everything. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please, leave a review and tell me what you think! I'd really appreciate it!**

_**Stay Safe  
** _ **ButtonPusher**


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